Stroke of Midnight
by RobinDanielle
Summary: Rachel Porter is big into fairy tales and acting. So she is super hyped when she gets chosen to play as Cinderella in a local theatre production. But what happens when she meets a mysterious clown and finds herself in her own fairy tale? One where the prince is more like the villain? And what happens when she has no desire to get away from it? Pennywise x OC
1. Chapter 1

Rachel had been working as a library assistant at the Derry Public Library for the past several months. She loved to read, and was into drawing, as well as performing arts. She belonged to the Derry Players' Theatre and was playing as the lead in their production of Cinderella.

One afternoon, on her way home from work, she was going over some of her lines in her head. She had a stack of books that she had checked out at work, as well as her drawing portfolio in her hands. Not paying attention, she tripped over a curb and stumbled and dropped her portfolio, some of her drawings flying loosely to the ground. One of them flew into a sewer drain. "No," she gasped. She set down her books and dropped to her knees, collecting her sketches. Luckily none of them are damaged. Rachel reached for one that has fallen right in front of the sewer drain.

Right as her hand touched it, she pulled back with a gasp. Two icy blue eyes stare back at her. "Hiya there, girly," a voice says as his face emerges. It's a clown. Two buck teeth show out between his smiling, red lips. Her heart started beating fast.

"H-hi," Rachel stammered.

"I believe you dropped something." His voice is soft, with just a slight squeak to it. He holds up a piece of paper.

"My drawing!" she exclaimed.

"Interesting sketch," the clown says. She frowned in embarrassment when she realized what it is. A girl standing in front of a well, leaning in to kiss the frog that she was holding. _The Frog Prince_. Not her best piece. She drew it at work, because it was such a slow day.

"Keep it," she said.

The clown held it out to her. "You don't want it back?" He seemed confused.

She shook her head. "That's alright. It's not one of my best."

She had no idea who this man was or why he would be in the sewer, but the total oddness and unexpectedness of the situation was more than a little freaking her out. "Look, I really need to go." She started gathering the rest of her drawings.

"So what happens to the frog?"

The question stopped her. "The frog?"

The clown showed her the drawing. "In your picture. After the girl kisses him?"

Rachel blinked at him, slightly taken aback. Had he really never heard of the story of _The Frog Prince?_

She straightened her stack of drawings out. "He turns into a prince."

The clown giggled. "A prince? That sounds nice."

Rachel let out a small laugh, appealed by his seemingly innocence. She were about to stand up, but something stopped her. "Do you live down here?" she asked him, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Why of course, silly." The clown giggled. "The whole circus lives down here."

Rachel nodded, trying not to roll her eyes. "Right." She started to gather her books.

"You like the circus, don't ya?" The clown asked eagerly.

Rachel paused and sighed. "I've never been to one."

The clown gasped. "Never been to one? Well then you should come down here." His face lit up into a grin again. "There's lots of neat stuff. Good food as well. There's cotton candy and hotdogs."

Rachel giggled again. This clown was sure a trip. She glanced around quickly, glad that she was down a side street that had few traffic. She could only imagine what if would look like if people saw her talking to a sewer drain.

"And maybe you'll get to see some neat tricks," said the clown.

Rachel gave him a polite smile. "That sounds nice. But I don't know if I like the idea of being down in a sewer. Plus I don't even know you."

"Oh, well I'm Pennywise the Dancing Clown." He shook himself, and Rachel heard the jingle of bells.

"Rachel," she said.

"Well nice to meet ya, Rachel. Now we aren't strangers anymore," said Pennywise.

"I guess not. See you around, Pennywise," she said. She finished picking up her books and headed for home.

"See you around, Rachel," Pennywise said to her retreating form. He glanced at the drawing in his hand, at the girl standing next to the well. His blue eyes turned yellow and his face lit up into a maniacal grin, displaying two rows of sharp teeth. "Yes, I'll be seeing you around for sure."


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel jumped out of bed as soon as she woke up the next morning, eager to start her day. She had tried very hard not to think of Pennywise when she had gotten home the day before, but had failed miserably. Who was he really? Where did he come from? Did he really live down in the sewer? She tried to think of who she could ask about him, but she didn't want anyone thinking she was crazy. So before she had gone to sleep, she had made a resolve to go back to that same spot when she got off of work the next day, to see if he was still there.

Rachel threw on a red shirt and black slacks and pulled her long chestnut locks up in a messy ponytail. After eating a quick bowl of cereal, she was out the door. She knew it wouldn't make the day go by any faster, but was still anxious to get it started. As the library was only several blocks from her rent house, Rachel preferred to walk.

A boy rode by her on his bike. He had curly black hair and thick glasses. "How you doing, senorita?" he called in a fake Mexican accent. Rachel shook her head and smiled. "Gonna be late for school, Richie," she called after him.

Richie Tozier had been best friends with Rachel's cousin Bill for as long as she could remember. Although she was five years older than them, she had become close to Bill and his family, as she had almost spent more time with them than her own. Her dad had died when she was young, and her mom and stepdad were constantly arguing and had never seemed to have time for her. So the Denbroughs, especially Bill and his sweet younger brother, Georgie, had become a second family to her. They would even pay her to babysit the boys and had even gone so far as to help her find a place of her own as soon as she were out of high school, an act which, of course, her parents had not been too thrilled with.

Rachel arrived at work fifteen minutes early. Mrs. Stout would be pleased. The head librarian was a stickler for punctuality.

"Good morning, Rachel," she said when Rachel flounced through the door.

"Good morning," she beamed at her.

"And how are we doing today?" Mrs. Stout asked as Rachel joined her behind the circulation desk.

She nodded her head. "Pretty good actually."

"Someone sent you something." Mrs. Stout gestured off to the side. "Found it outside the door this morning."

And then she saw them. In fact, she didn't know how she missed them. A bouquet of balloons tied to what appeared to be some kind of small green stuffed animal.

"You have an admirer I don't know about?"

"Not that I know of," Rachel replied as she slowly approached the gift. "Are you sure they're for me?"

"Got your name on them."

Rachel's eyes grew wide when she saw what the balloons were attached to. A stuffed green frog. She picked it up and found that her hands were starting to shake. Sure enough, there was a piece of paper attached to it, with the words 'For Rachel' written in red. Who could have possible sent her this? She remembered Pennywise smiling up at her from within the sewer, the drawing that he had held in his hand. _The Frog Prince._

There was no way. Was he stalking her? How did he know where she worked? And even more importantly, did he know where she lived?

Rachel's heart started pounding. She needed to keep it together. The library would be opening up in a few minutes. And there was no way of knowing for sure if it was from him or not. She moved her mysterious gift out of the way and took a deep breath. Today was going to be a long day.

About halfway through the day she got a call from her mother. She needed Rachel to babysit her stepbrother that evening while her mom and stepdad went out to a function in town that night. Rachel sighed. Toby was almost two and she'd spent just enough time with him to understand that he was a handful. But Rachel agreed. She and her mom rarely spoke since Rachel had moved out and theatre practice had been canceled that night due to predicted bad weather. The rest of the afternoon went by fairly slow. No more mysterious gifts showed up much to Rachel's relief. But now there was something else that she was dreading.

The wind was starting to pick up when she got off of work and rain clouds were starting to roll in. She walked back to her house and grabbed her car key. She would have to drive to her mom's house. It was a large, blue two story with white trim. Her mom was in the kitchen.

"Hi mom." Rachel gave her mother a dry smile.

Her mom, Sarah, glanced up from digging in her purse. "Hi honey. How was your day?"

Rachel folded her arms across her chest. "It was decent."

Carl, Rachel's step dad, came in from the living room. "Hey, Rachel."

Rachel gave him a sheepish smile and a little wave. Coming over still made her uncomfortable.

"How's the weather looking?" Carl asked.

"It's starting to get ugly," Rachel responded.

"You sure you can handle it, right?" Sarah asked as she went to grab her coat. "The emergency numbers are on the fridge if you have any problems."

Rachel stuck her hands in her pockets. "I think I got it, Mom. We should be alright."

Carl held the tv remote in his hand. "I would say you could watch tv, but…" He gestured towards the television. There was a woman sitting in the middle of a group of children. It looked like some kind of children's program. "This has been on all day. Every channel. And they only talk about one thing."

Rachel moved to stand next to Carl in the living room, her eyes on the tv. The woman was talking about the sewers and how fun it was for kids to play in them. Rachel narrowed her eyes. The sewers? What an odd thing to discuss.

"It's ok. I brought some books with me. I'll find something to do."

Her parents gave her last minute instructions and left. Rachel turned off the tv and went out to her car to grab a book since tv was out of the question. Thunder rumbled above. And the wind had gotten stronger. After checking all the doors to make sure they were locked, she settled down on the couch. Thunder rumbled again.

After reading for a while, she decided to check on Toby. Sure enough, he was just waking up. She brought him downstairs, fed him, then put him in his play pen in the living room while she grabbed herself something to eat. Afterwards she lay back on the couch with her book. Torrential rain was lashing at the windows, and more thunder sounded. Toby whimpered.

"It's okay, bud. It's just a little thunder."

She read for a while longer, then before she knew it she was asleep. But in her sleep, she felt a presence, like she wasn't alone. She felt something tickle her nose, which she idly rubbed at, then dozed off again. She felt the tickle again.

"Rachel." The voice was a whisper. "Rachel." She heard it again. Calling for her. "Come to the well." The voice sounded close. She felt something move down her face. She fought to wake up. "So pretty." This time she felt it on her hair. "Come visit me, Rachel. Come visit—"

Bam! Rachel woke up with a jolt, her heart hammering in her chest. The lights were out. She glanced around frantically. It was almost pitch dark in the house. Toby started crying. She felt a whimper escape her. She just knew someone was in the house with them. Why hadn't she thought to grab a flashlight? Lightning flashed again. She made her way to Toby who was right next to the couch.

"Shh." She told him. She was shaking so badly, she almost couldn't pick him up. She held him and tried to calm them both down.

Right outside, a man in a white clown suit, his bright auburn hair dripping from the rain, watched.


	3. Chapter 3

The rain had lasted all through the night and continued on to the next day. It was a Saturday, so Rachel didn't have to go to work. Unfortunately that meant sitting around the house, which just made it worse for her paranoid, sleep deprived brain. There was no way Pennywise had been with her in her mom's house the night before. It just wasn't possible. And the balloons? It was just too much. By mid-morning she had decided she had driven herself crazy long enough. She called the Denbroughs to make sure they were home. Uncle Zach was at work, but Aunt Susan was home with the boys. Aunt Susan told her Bill was sick—a perfect time to bring him the book Rachel had bought him over a week ago.

Rachel grabbed the book where it had been nestled on the small bookshelf in her living room, threw on her blue raincoat, and headed out the door. She couldn't remember if Bill already had The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, but it had been a decent price and she knew Bill wouldn't complain.

She drove down the rain drenched streets towards her Aunt and Uncle's house. She was totally lost in thought when she saw a big yellow object on her left down the road. She squinted her eyes at it.

"What in the world," she mumbled.

As she got closer, she saw that it was a boy in a yellow raincoat crouched down in front of a sewer drain. Rachel slowed down to a stop and rolled down her window. Raindrops pelted the inside of the car door.

"Do you need any help?" she called out.

The boy turned and glanced towards her. His face was partially obstructed by his yellow hood, but he looked very familiar.

"Georgie?" she called again.

"Rachael," he said in a downcast voice.

The inside of her car was starting to get wetter, including her.

"Georgie, what are you doing out here?"

"I lost my boat. Bill made it for me." His little voice was so distraught it broke Rachel's heart.

"I'm sure he can make you another one, honey."

"But this one was special," Georgie whined.

Rachel was starting to feel desperate. "Georgie, please get in. It's pouring out here. You know Bill's not gonna be mad."

Georgie lowered his head in defeat. Then he jumped as if startled by something. He stood and turned towards Rachel. In his hand was a paper boat. Rachel stared in shock. How had he gotten it? She didn't see him reach down into the drain, and even if he did, he would have had to have Inspector Gadget arms to reach it. He ran towards her car and she reached back to unlock the door for him. She quickly rolled up her window. Her car was definitely going to have a little smell to it once it dried.

"Now. Happy?" she asked Georgie once he had settled down.

"Uhhuh." Georgie nodded eagerly. "I didn't think he was going to give it back."

Rachel had just started to take off, but then slammed on the brake.

"What? Didn't think _who_ was going to give it back?" she asked slowly.

"Nobody. I was just kidding." Georgie lowered his gaze sheepishly.

Rachel's gaze shot to the sewer drain. All was dark within. She didn't even wait to see if she would see movement and hit the gas.

"Yeah you were just joking, right?" Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly and glanced at Georgie in the rearview mirror.

He nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."

Rachel took a deep breath. "It's ok, bud." She let out a nervous laugh, acting like she was playing along. "You did get me good though." She glanced back at Georgie again. He was fiddling with his boat. Rachel pulled up in front of his house.

"Hey, Georgie, can you do me a favor?"

She turned around to look at him.

"Sure," he said. Rachel smiled. He was such a sweet kid.

She didn't know what to say. There was a pretty good chance that it was Pennywise he had seen in the sewer drain, but she didn't want to scare him more than he probably already was.

"Be careful alright. Don't go crawling into places where you can get hurt or stuck."

"I won't," Georgie said. He opened the door and left. Rachel watched him go inside the house, but she didn't go in just yet. Something really strange was going on in Derry. She didn't know who Pennywise was or what his game was, but she was determined to find out.

* * *

Pennywise's breath quickened as he listened to the car drive off. Away. He had let the boy get away. Rachel. She had been there. The boy knew her. He had let him get away. And he had let him have his stupid boat back. He was slipping up. Because of her. Pennywise closed his eyes. He could still feel the softness of her cheek, of her hair. He had to see her again. To get her alone. To talk to her. To- He felt his claws protract. He had to feed soon. He was beginning to feel weak.

"Soon, my pretty doll. I'll see you soon. And this time there will be no denying my presence."

* * *

Cinderella defiantly stared down Lady Tremaine. "What bothers you more, stepmother? That I am common or that I am competition?"

"Why nothing about you bothers me anymore, stepdaughter." Lady Tremaine spit out the last word as if it were poison. "When the prince gets here, he will ask for Anastasia's hand in marriage. And you will still be nothing more than the servant girl."

"Then I will remain so gladly," Cinderella responded. "And someday Henry will see you for the snakes you are."

Lady Tramaine shrugged. "Royalty does not believe in divorce, dear. Now if you will excuse me..." she jingled set of keys she held. "I have a prince to go meet." She opened the door with a smirk and waved. "Ta ta." She closed the door behind her and locked it. Cinderella slowly sank into her chair. And as grief began to overtake her, she buried her face in her hands and wept.

"And... that's a wrap!" Mrs. Tunstall, the director, shouted from the front row.

Rachel stood up as Mrs. Laura came back across the stage, key ring still in her hand and a huge grin across her face. She and Rachel embraced.

"Ohh you were great," Mrs. Laura crooned.

"Me?" Rachel said as they pulled apart, her own face lit up. "I wouldn't be anywhere without you. The villain makes the backbone of the show."

"Oh stop." Mrs. Laura playfully slapped Rachel on the shoulder. "You're too modest."

Mrs. Laura went to talk to someone and Rachel went to find her "step-sisters". They all talked and laughed as they went to change out of costume and then Rachel said her goodbyes and took off for home.

It was a little after 8, so twilight was just giving way to night. Rachel's stomach rumbled. It would have to be a seek-and-find dinner tonight. It was Monday, so work had been busy; and theatre practice had let out late, so she really didn't feel like cooking.

The streets were quiet except for her footsteps on the pavement. She was starting to get nervous. Usually she had loved walking home after dark, but now… Soon she reached the alley where she had seen Pennywise the other day, and stopped. Should she really pass by there in the dark by herself? She stood, weighing her decision. That had been five days ago. If he wanted to hurt her, surely he would have done it by now. She blew a breath out through her mouth and started walking.

She was about half way down when she heard a noise behind her, like something bang against a trashcan. Rachel turned around. She waited for a few seconds, but didn't hear anything else, then started on her way again. This time she heard a rustling sound close by, and then another sound behind her. She turned around and gasped.

A man stepped out from a dumpster. Rachel whirled around as another vaulted over the chain length fence to her left. She started backing up the way she came. As she did, she glanced over her shoulder and saw a third man coming behind her from that direction. She was trapped.

She turned to face the dumpster man, and the one that had jumped over the fence grabbed her. Rachel screamed and started trying to fight him off.

"Ooh she's a feisty one, isn't she?" dumpster guy leered at her. "Looks like we're gonna have fun with her."

The one holding Rachel covered her mouth and tightened his grip. Dumpster guy came at her and started pawing at her, her chest, her stomach. She screamed against the hand over her mouth, but it just came out muffled. She moved her mouth around and finally got some leverage with her teeth and bit down. The man hollered and removed his hand from her mouth.

"Pennywise!" The name ripped from Rachel's throat before she could stop it. Dumpster guy started to pull up her shirt and she spat in his face.

"Bitch!" He slapped Rachel across the face, making her head go sideways. He grabbed for her again and she closed her eyes. In two seconds, his weight was off her. She opened her eyes and stared in shock. A large white figure loomed before her. He was holding her attacker up in the air, the man's feet dangling. Rachel watched on as the man, which she now noticed was wearing a white clown suit, grabbed her attacker with his other hand and snapped his neck. The man that was holding her let go and he and the other man at the end of the alley took off running into the night.

Rachel started shaking as the clown turned to face her. Her mouth fell open. She had only seen that face once before, but there was no forgetting it. Pennywise. She started to back up slowly down the alley.

"Wh-why did you come?" she stammered.

"Why did I come?" He gestured to himself. "Why did you call?"

She shook her head. "You got here too fast. You were already here."

"Pretty girls like you shouldn't be out at night. Or in the rain."

Rachel gasped. "It was you. In the sewer drain, talking to Georgie. And the balloons. That was you too."

She could barely make out the grin that now adorned his painted face. "Is it not a custom to exchange...gifts?"

Rachel stared at him, taken aback. "Gifts?"

"A present for a present. A picture for balloons," he said in a giddy voice. "Is that not what pretty girls want?"

She glanced down at the body at his feet. "I don't know what I want. I just know I watched you kill a man."

Pennywise's brow furrowed. "He was going to hurt you. Would you have wanted that?"

"So you're my savior now? My protector?" Rachel spat.

She backed up farther and he continued to step closer. "I am many things, my dear. A savior…" He let out a creepy giggle as he stepped into the light and she gasped when she saw him clearly for the first time. "…is not one of them."

He must have been at least six feet tall. His suit was pale gray and looked very old, like from around the Renaissance period. His face was white with bright red lips and a high forehead. His head was topped with wild orange hair.

As she studied him, she saw a light out the corner of her eye. A man was standing at the end of the alley, shining a flashlight.

"Hey you!" he called.

Pennywise turned towards the newcomer. That was her chance. Rachel turned tail and ran. She kept running and didn't stop until she reached her house. She sat herself on the front steps to catch her breath, her heart beating erratically.

The strange and frightening scene she just endured kept playing through her mind. And so many questions kept flitting across her brain, like a scattered flock of crows. Why was Pennywise following her? Why did she call for him in her moment of desperation? And more importantly, why did he think she was important enough to save?


	4. Chapter 4

Stanley Uris's kippah went sailing through the window of a passing school bus like a frisbee.

"Guys? Really?" Rachel put her hands on her hips, shaking her head as Patrick and Vic cackled like a pair of hyenas.

Stanly got to his feet, dusting the dirt off his pants. Vic pushed him towards her group. Bill had just gotten over being sick, so Rachel's aunt had asked her to pick up him and Georgie after school for a couple of days instead of letting them ride their bikes so that Bill wouldn't over exert himself. Luckily Mrs. Stout had let Rachel leave work for a little while.

"You guys are sad, you know that?" Rachel shot at the Bowers Gang.

Patrick mimicked crying and wiping away a tear. "So sad," he said mockingly. Vic laughed and Belch gave the response that had earned him the only name Rachel knew him by.

Henry Bowers, the leader of this gang of pathetic miscreants, pointed a finger at Rachel menacingly. "Why don't you shut your face, bookworm, before I have to add a matching mark to your other cheek?"

Rachel's face grew hot from anger and embarrassment. Her cheek was still tender from when the man in the alley had hit her the night before. _The dead man,_ she thought. She could still see Pennywise's large form standing out in the dark like a pale ghost, picking her attacker up as if he weighed nothing.

She glanced to the right and saw Georgie come out of the school. She shot a nervous glance back at Henry. There was no way her little cousin was going to bypass this group of trolls. As Georgie got closer, she tried motioning at him to go around to the right. He noticed, but to Rachel's horror, so did Patrick. A sadistic grin lit up his face.

"Aww. It's the little shrimp." He dubbed his thumb towards Georgie and started side stepping towards him.

Rachel stepped forward, but Bowers got in front of her. For the second time in two days, her path was blocked by some menacing goon. She bit her bottom lip. Henry was a head taller than her and even though he was pretty scrawny, she knew he could still hurt her. Patrick was moving back and forth in front of Georgie, taunting him. Every way Georgie would go, Patrick would go that way. Patrick laughed.

"Bill," Georgie called out weakly.

"P-Patrick, leave h-him alone," Bill hollered.

Rachel was seething. She glared at Henry and then her eyes flickered to the two cops that were standing across the street behind him. She smirked when she recognized one of them.

"You really want to keep making a scene in front of Daddy?" she whispered. "By the look on his face, he doesn't look too pleased."

Henry's eyes grew wide as his face took on a crazed, murderous look. _Jeez, there is something seriously wrong with this kid,_ Rachel thought. But she didn't dare let him see the unease that was building within her. Instead she raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to continue his little charade.

"Patrick!"

Patrick twisted around to face her and Bowers and Georgie scampered past him to safety. Bowers got in Rachel's face and jabbed a finger at her. "This isn't over," he whispered heatedly.

Bowers stalked off and the rest of his goons followed. Bill and his friends crowded around Rachel. She jumped when she felt a thump on her back.

"Ho-ly shit, that was great!" Richie clapped her on the back again. "I mean, you just stood there right in his face." He held his hand up in the air, fingers bent forward to emphasize how close Rachel had come to danger. "I would have died."

"Yeah, like fucking literally," Eddie Kaspbrak added.

"Hey! We're still at school," Rachel scolded.

"Yeah, we're still at school," Richie whispered in Eddie's face. Eddie pushed him.

The boys said their good-byes and while the others got on their bikes, Rachel and her cousins headed to her car, which was parked in front of the other end of school.

"Are y-you going to be d-driving us tomorrow?" Bill asked.

"Nah." Rachel unlocked her door. "I think your mom just wanted me to do it for a couple of days. You should be ok. Your cough is almost go-" Rachel glanced up and froze. Floating towards her, from across the road, was a single red balloon. She watched its slow approach, then glanced around nervously.

Georgie looked up at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetheart." She unlocked the back door and the boys climbed inside. A car passed, causing the balloon to swirl around in the air. Rachel opened her own door and went to climb in, but decided to take one more peek.

And wished she hadn't.

The balloon was gone. But there was something else. Someone else. Standing in a small copse of trees right across the street.

Pennywise.

Rachel felt her body lock in place. He just stood there, his intense, predatory eyes slanted slightly downward, staring at her. Devouring her. His puffy, cherry red lips hung slightly open. She started trembling. She couldn't look away. She wanted to, only she didn't want to. She wanted to go to him. She wanted-

Another school bus passed. And then he was gone.

* * *

Rachel went about her daily routine. People talked about the man who had been murdered and of course she would act shocked. No one could ever know the truth, and there was no way they would even believe her. The next day passed. Still no Pennywise. No sightings, no gifts, even her nights were beginning to feel empty and mundane.

Friday came. The last day of school. The day had been pretty quiet at work. By afternoon a boy came in asking for books about the history of Derry. He seemed like a quiet boy, with a round, friendly face. She found a few books for him, then got him settled at a table.

"It's a pretty day today," she told him. "The last day of school. Wouldn't you rather be out with friends?"

The boy glanced out the window. "I like it in here."

Rachel smiled at him. "Me too. Well if you need any help, just ask."

She went back to the circulation desk and grabbed the drawing that she had started working on after lunch. It was in pencil and was more of just an idle doodle. She traced his lips with her fingers. Those lips that she couldn't get out of her mind. And those intense eyes. She sighed and set it down.

She walked past the steps that led to the storage room and heard something that sounded like a holler coming from that direction. She went to investigate and was halfway down the stairs when the boy that had requested the Derry books came running up them as if something was chasing him. He slowed down when he got to her and they just looked at each other, not saying anything as he walked past. What had caused him to run like that? Or even better… who? Rachel descended the rest of the stairs. The light in the large room was dim. Long shelves full of archives, old equipment, and other things ran parallel to her. She started walking down the center aisle.

"I know you're here," she called. She turned slowly, all her senses on high alert. "No one else could have scared that boy like that."

She heard a creaking sound off to her right and froze. Her heart started pounding. Did she really want to be down here alone with him? "Please, I know your there. I _need_ to know you're there. I know that I'm not losing my mind." She started glancing around frantically. "I need to know that you are real. I need to see you, I need to feel…" She brought her hands up to her face and closed her eyes. A cacophony of feelings raged through her, each one fighting to take precedence: fear, anxiousness, and in the deepest part of her, something else that she was afraid to label. She heard movement behind her, close behind her. Every muscle in her body seemed to lock in place.

"Pretty little princess, don't be afraid."

Rachel's eyes flew open. She knew that voice anywhere—that soft, silky, squeaky voice.

"Pennywise has come to make your day."

When she felt his hand on her neck, she squealed and jumped sideways so hard that her back hit one of the shelves. She heard something clatter to the floor on the other side.

She had never seen him this close before. He towered over her. Three furry orange balls went down the center of his chest. Her head reached the middle one. His buck teeth shown prominently through his cherry red lips that were lit up into a grin so big his face could have split along the single red lines that curved from his lips and up along his face.

He leaned in towards her. "Did the little princess jump?" He giggled.

"Y-you startled me," she stammered.

He frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

She highly doubted that.

He leaned in closer. "Are you afraid of me?"

Rachel's mouth opened and closed a couple of times. She wasn't sure how to answer him. "I g-guess I am a little." She was starting to sound like Bill. He reached out and barely grazed her cheek with a gloved finger causing Rachel to flinch slightly.

"I'm not going to hurt you, little one. But I know you've been missing me. So I've come to give you what you want."

"And how do you know what I want?" she said a little too loudly.

"Oh I know everything, my dear." He rubbed his thumb along her chin. His face was so close and his breath smelled super sweet, like cotton candy. "I know you lie awake at night, haunted by your fears..." he tilted his head sideways at her and brought his thumb up to rub along her bottom lip. Rachel whimpered as a shiver ran through her body, one that had nothing to do with fear. "And your desires." He said that last word slowly. Rachel yanked her head back to break the contact and the clown chuckled. "Look how easy you come undone by my touch."

"I did _not_ ask you to touch me!"

He chuckled again. "But isn't that what you wanted to do to me?" He shook his head at her, causing his bells to jingle. "To see that I'm real. To..." He reached out like he was going to poke her nose, but then stopped just inches away. Rachel stared at his hand. "...touch me." He lowered his hand and leaned down to her face again. "Go ahead, kit-ten. There's no one here. Do it...Touch me."

Rachel's heart was beating erratically. She glanced at his chest. She slowly reached out and rested her hand on it. She had thought his costume would feel course, but it was kind of satiny, like a parachute. She ran her hand up a little farther. Pennywise leaned in closer to her, his brow furrowed. She tilted her chin up as he passed his nose inches from her hair. She heard him inhale, as though he was smelling her. Rachel closed her eyes. She felt his nose graze her temple. She felt a warmth spread through her belly as she felt his hand slowly snake around her back. Her breath was now coming out in short bursts. He started rubbing her back.

"Rachel!"

Rachel's eyes snapped open. She glanced up at Pennywise. "Shit, I've been gone too long!" She pushed passed him and ran to the stairs. "I'm in here," she called up to Mrs. Stout.

"Well I was wondering where you had gone," the librarian replied. She appeared at the top of the stairs. "Everything alright? Your face looks flushed."

"I'm alright. I just...got overheated."

"Well go splash some water on your face. No need for you to be passing out, especially not down there." Mrs. Stout left.

Rachel turned around, but Pennywise was gone, leaving her more confused than ever. There was no denying it now, she was definitely attracted to him. She had to see him again, as frightened as she was by her feelings. Just being around him was intoxicatingly. But was he dangerous? Was he a danger to her? She needed to find out.


	5. Chapter 5

_(Sorry it took so long for me to update. Busy, busy weekend. Thank you all so much for the likes and reviews! I really appreciate all of you! Hope you enjoy.)_

 _***This chapter contains mild sensuality.***_

Rachel was digging around in the prop room for tape when she heard the screams. Her head shot up and she stood up quickly, rushing to the door. She turned the corner and stood staring down at the end of the hallway where the dressing room was. The screams had to have come from there. Sure enough, the dressing room door flew open. Regina and Jessica came scrambling out, their hands flying up around their heads and shoulders as if they were trying to brush something off of them.

Mrs. Tunstall came running. "What? What's wrong?" she hollered at the frantic girls.

"Rats! There were some rats!" the girls hollered.

"They were all over us!" Jessica was almost in tears.

"They jumped down from the rafters," Regina chimed in.

Rachel stood there taking in this strange scene. Where would rats have come from all of a sudden? Before she could step forward, she felt herself being pulled backwards into the shadows. She whirled around to protest and came face to face with Pennywise.

"Wha-" Her mouth fell open as she stared in shock at her clown stalker. "What are you doing here?" she hissed.

Pennywise giggled, his usual grin on his face. "Did I surprise you?" he asked gleefully.

Rachel scowled. "I'm beginning to think nothing surprises me anymore."

"Well now…" He giggled again and nodded. "We're going to have to work on that."

Rachel sighed. With the exception of that night that he had saved her, the clown could never show up at a time that was convenient.

"We shouldn't talk in the open like this." She pointed towards the open prop room door. She grabbed Pennywise by the arm as she walked around him to go inside. Somehow she didn't think he would mind that she had done that. He left the door open, so she had to go behind him and close it. She spread out her arms. "So I hear screams and you show up. What's up with that, Pennywise?"

Rachel stood in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest, glowering at him. He didn't say anything, but his brow furrowed. He stepped towards her, his eyes traveling up and down her body. Rachel shifted uncomfortably. He stopped right in front of her, and to her surprise his hand came up and touched the torn bodice of her dress.

"Those other girls were not nice to you. Maybe next time they will be."

Rachel's mouth opened and closed like a fish. Was he the one that had put the rats in the dressing room to scare the girls? He sounded so serious. Did he really not realize that they had just been acting?

"Pennywise, they just… they were acting. This is a play. This is…" She picked up the torn piece of pink fabric that was hanging off her bodice. "This is my costume." She showed him the pieces of Velcro that attached it and put it back in place. "See? The character that I play was supposed to wear this to the ball, but her stepsisters were jealous, so they ripped it. It's supposed to tear like that."

Pennywise had his head tilted to the side as she explained this to him. "You wanted them to tear your clothes?"

Rachel nodded. "Of course. I mean, my character didn't want them to, but I was just…" she waved her hands in the air. "I was pretending to be upset. We're uh, doing a play of Cinderella. It's about this girl whose mom dies when she's little. And then her dad remarries. But the woman's kind of a jerk. And she has two daughters." Rachel took a breath. Was she really having to explain the story of Cinderella to him? She started to say more when she heard voices down the hallway. Her mouth fell open when she realized that she hadn't locked the door, so she rushed to do so.

"I think you should leave," Rachel said shortly. "Please, I don't think it would be good if people would see you."

Pennywise's brow furrowed and his lips puckered. "You don't…want me here?"

Rachel's eyes grew wide as she caught the hint of anger in his voice. She held out her hand. "No, no it's not that! It's just… You're just…" She gestured at him. "Please don't be angry. We can talk some other time if you want." The voices had gotten closer. "I can finish telling you Cinderella's story."

Pennywise's face lit up. "You would tell me a story?"

"Yes," Rachel said quickly. "Whatever you want. I can show you some of my drawings too."

Someone pulled at the doorknob.

"Just…" Rachel held up a finger. "Wait right here." She went to unlock the door and stuck her head out. It was Mr. Grayson, the props director.

"Rachel?"

She smiled at him. "Hey."

Mr. Grayson laughed. "What are you doing locked in here?"

Rachel thought fast. "I was just looking for some tape. I decided to re-adjust my costume and didn't want anyone to walk in."

"Ah. Well just let me know when you're done."

"Um…I should be…" She glanced behind her. Pennywise was nowhere to be seen. _Why am I not surprised?_ she thought. She turned back to Mr. Grayson and gave him a cheesy grin. "I'm done. Have fun."

She walked past him to go back to the stage and realized that she was shaking a little. He had just disappeared. _No telling what other tricks he has up his sleeve._ She shook her head. "Not normal. He is definitely not normal."

* * *

Rachel sat up with a jolt. Something had woken her. She listened for a second, but all was quiet. She glanced over at the clock. 11:35. Almost midnight. She rubbed her eyes and was about to lay back down when she saw something. A large white shape stood on the other side of her room. She sat straight up, her heart beating faster. How had he gotten in her house?

"Pennywise," she whispered.

He slowly stepped into the moonlight. "I didn't startle you, did I?" he asked quietly. His voice was so soft, so velvety.

She pulled her feet up as he approached her bed. She thought he was going to sit down, but what he did instead shocked her exponentially more. Very slowly he climbed onto the bed, the mattress sunk under his weight, springs creaking. His bells jingled as he moved. Rachel backed up until she was against the headboard. Her heart was pounding. She started shaking. What was he going to do to her?

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"I just wanted to see my little princess." He was almost in her face. His eyes shone silver in the moonlight. His cherry red mouth widened into his signature grin. "Let's make you more comfortable."

His hands firmly grabbed her legs. Rachel yelped as he pulled her back down the bed.

"That's better." He was right over her now. "Isn't my little princess more comfortable?"

Rachel started squirming, trying to get back out from underneath him. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. "N-not really."

He placed his hand on her stomach. Her stomach muscles quivered in response. She stopped moving.

"And what can I do to make my kitten more comfortable?"

"Uh…" was all she could reply.

He leaned in towards her neck. She instantly moved her head sideways, away from him. He inhaled. Rachel whimpered. She was shaking violently now. This was now the second time he had been this close to her. Except this time was different. He was in her bed. He was on top of her. She gasped when she felt him lick her neck. She reached out and placed her hands on his chest. She started to push him away, but something stopped her. So many emotions flooded through her. The main part of her was petrified with fear, but deep down, there was another sensation beginning to take root. He started rubbing her stomach as if he could sense her desire. He inhaled her scent again.

"Tasty, tasty beautiful fear." His voice was almost a growl. "But there is something else." He pulled back to look at her, a dark, hungry look in his eyes. She heard a rumble in his throat. His eyes moved down to her chest. Before she could say or do anything, he grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled, ripping it. Rachel gasped. She tried to pull away, but he ripped farther. She hollered.

Pennywise dropped the torn fabric like it had burned him when he reached her breasts, which were now half exposed. Rachel tried frantically to pull her shirt together. Pennywise was frozen, staring at her chest. The look on his face was undiscernible.

"What in the hell!" She hollered as she tried to scramble out from underneath him, which was very difficult since her hands were preoccupied. Her face burned like fire. "Why did you do that?" she screeched.

Pennywise backed up, but still leaned over her. "I thought you would want me to do that."

"What?" Rachel shot back heatedly as she yanked her sheet up to cover herself. "Why would you think that?"

"Those girls at your play tore your clothes. You said you wanted them too. I thought you would want me to also."

Rachel stared at Pennywise with a look of shock. She covered her face with her hands. "Oh my God," she moaned. He had totally misunderstood her. He thought he was trying to please her. It was just too much. "Get out," she said through her hands. She moved them away from her face to pull her hair back. "Please get out." Pennywise just sat there looking at her. His face wore a deep frown.

"Get out," she said more forcefully.

He stood. "I didn't-"

"I don't care what you meant to do. Just leave." Rachel felt hot tears prick at her eyes. She didn't want to hurt him. He had been nothing but nice and gentle with her, if not more than a little creepy, but a line had been drawn. She brushed a hand through her hair. A tear fell. "I can't do this, Penny. I just, I can't."

Pennywise hung his head and slowly tromped out of the room. Rachel put her face in her hands and wept.


	6. Chapter 6

When Rachel woke up, it was almost 9 a.m. She groggily sat up in bed. Her eyes hurt from crying and only getting a few hours of sleep. Thankfully it was Sunday, so she didn't have to go to work. She got out of bed and picked up her shredded shirt off the floor. After tossing it in the wastebasket, she dug around for some fresh clothes. She settled on a fitted light yellow shirt and light blue jean shorts. She really didn't feel like eating breakfast, but her stomach was rumbling, so she forced herself to eat a bowl of cereal. She glanced around her empty house. Not even the silence felt comforting.

She hadn't ridden her bike in a couple of weeks, so she decided to take it out for a morning ride. It was a nice sunny day. She decided to ride out to the woods to enjoy the peace and comfort of nature. On the way she passed the old, decrepit Neibolt house. Its yellowed, overgrown yard was dotted with sunflowers, the only spot of brightness that came from a house that looked like something from a horror movie.

As she rode, her spirits rose exponentially. She started nearing Lovers' Bridge, which meant the woods were just beyond. As she got closer, she saw a group of teenagers right before the bridge. She slowed to a stop as she recognized them. The Bowers Gang. Henry Bowers was bent over in front of someone. A short someone. Rachel heard the kid yell. Without even thinking she got off her bike and walked closer. She saw a glint in Bower's hand. His knife. The kid yelled again.

"Hey!" Rachel hollered.

The whole group turned towards her, including the boy that Bowers was terrorizing. Rachel recognized him instantly. It was the boy from the library.

"Let him go!"

"Hey, Henry, look who it is. Stuttering Bill's cousin," said Vic.

The boys started guffawing and making cat calls. While they were preoccupied, the boy from the library squirmed out of Belch and Vic's grasp and jumped over the railing.

"Go after him, Patrick!" Bowers screeched.

Patrick jumped over the edge. Bowers pointed at Rachel, his face contorted with rage. "Get that bitch!"

Rachel knew now that she had messed up. She started running in the opposite direction, but she wasn't fast enough. Vic and Belch caught up to her and grabbed her. She screamed and fought against them as they drug her over to where they had had the boy. The two of them pinned her against the bridge railing.

Bowers got in her face. "Showed up at the wrong minute didn't you, bookworm?"

Rachel tried to pull away, but Vic and Belch had her in a vice grip. "Let me go," she shot at them.

"You always gotta interfere, don't ya?" Bowers continued. "You know my dad almost beat me black and blue the other day for what you did?"

Rachel glared at him. For what _she_ did? "All I did was stand up to some stupid shit head picking on kids," she snarled at him.

"And that's one fuckup you're gonna regret."

A car was passing by slowly. It was an older couple. Their faces stared blankly at Rachel. She didn't even call out. What would they have been able to do? Before their car went under the bridge, a red balloon popped up in the back window. Rachel jumped in surprise, her mouth falling open. He knew. Somehow he knew what was happening to her. Bowers was still running his mouth.

"One day I'm gonna take you on a different kind of ride. One that's gonna be a hell of a lot rougher than this one will be."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. The fear was gone. All that was left was anger.

"But this will have to do for now." Bowers swung his fist back and punched her in the gut. Rachel's mouth flew open as all of the air was knocked out of her. A nauseating pain shot through her stomach, reverberating into her back. She started to hunch over, but Belch and Vic's hands held her. Bowers pointed behind her. "Pitch this stupid bitch over."

She didn't even have the breath to fight back. She pushed weakly against them as Vic grabbed her legs. Together he and Belch tossed her over the bridge. She was airborn for a split second before she hit land. Hard. She tumbled around and around, farther and farther into the ravine. Branches and rocks tore at her clothes and limbs. Finally her head struck something and she blacked out.

* * *

Rachel felt herself bouncing around. Her entire body ached. She moaned and tried to move but firm arms held her in place. Her head fell to the left and she felt firm satin against her face. She caught a whiff of something sweet, like cotton candy and then she blacked out again.

* * *

Rachel woke up feeling sorer than she had ever felt in her life. Her entire body was one giant ache and she had several burning spots on her arms and legs. She glanced around. She definitely wasn't in the ravine anymore, but she wasn't in her own house either. In fact wherever she was, she was pretty sure the place hadn't been inhabited in a long time. The bare white walls were tall and the paint was cracked and chipped. The couch that she was laying on was old and worn, an antique. She must have been in some sort of sitting room. A broken chandelier hung to her right, covered in cobwebs. There were two chairs in front of her, facing her. They were both covered in dingy white cloths.

She slowly pulled herself to a sitting position and started examining herself. Her arms were covered in scrapes and small cuts and what looked like smeared blood, which she found strange. Her right shoulder throbbed from the impact of her fall and her stomach was hurting as well. Her yellow shirt and jean shorts were covered in dirt. In fact, her whole body was. An angry cut oozed blood down her lower left leg. There was smeared blood also coming from the same cut, as well as a few other places on her legs. Why would smeared blood be covering her limbs? She swung her legs over the side of the couch and brought her hand up to touch the left side of her head, which throbbed mercilessly. She felt a lump under her fingers and winced.

She glanced down. By the head of the couch there was a pail of water and a dirty rag. Someone had been tending to her, or were at least planning to. She slowly stood up, her whole body groaning in protest.

She felt like a zombie as she walked across the room. The front door was directly to her right. She turned the doorknob. It wouldn't budge. She tried it again, pulled at it. Nothing. She turned the knob and pulled as hard as she could. "Come on," she said through gritted teeth. Finally she gave up, her shoulders sagging. She couldn't understand. Doors unlocked from inside, but for some reason, this one was stuck. She walked over to a window and pulled back the dingy curtain and peered out. It was boarded up. She peeked through a crack between two boards. Long, dry grass grew in the front yard and a tall rusted fence ran beyond that.

"This must be the Neibolt house," Rachel said in shock. "How did I get in here?"

She sank against the wall in defeat. Her head and shoulder were throbbing. She glanced at her leg. Fresh blood was dripping from the cut. She leaned her head back. There was nothing she could do about her situation now. She closed her eyes and somehow drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Rachel woke up on the couch again. She was still in the Neibolt house, and she wasn't alone. Pennywise had uncovered one of the chairs and was sitting with his hands on his knees, watching her.

"Hey, doctor, can I get a sucker for being a good patient?" Rachel asked with just an edge of sarcasm in her voice.

"Hmm..." he said thoughtfully. "No suckers. But I can offer you a balloon."

Rachel started to smile, then sat up with a shot when she remembered the car on the bridge. She put her hand on her head. "Ow."

"Oh, what's wrong? Does your head hurt?" Pennywise rushed to her side.

"Ha! What part of me doesn't hurt?" She sat up all the way.

Pennywise fluttered around her like a mother hen. "Maybe you should lay back down."

"Maybe I should go home or to a doctor or something." Rachel pulled her legs up and scooted to the head of the couch. Pennywise sat next to her.

"No! I won't let you leave!"

His voice was almost a growl. Rachel's eyes grew wide and she almost jumped up. Pennywise put his hand on her knee. "I don't want you to hurt yourself even more," he said more gently.

Rachel frowned. "So you did make the door get stuck somehow."

He started rubbing her knee. "You are so weak, Rachel. So delicate."

"Pennywise, I really need to get home," she said forcefully. "You can't keep me here." She stood up and immediately sat back down when the room started to spin. She put her head in her hands. "Shit."

She felt a hand on her knee again and opened your eyes. Pennywise was kneeling in front of her. His eyes were a light blue. The last time Rachel saw them like that was the first day she met him.

"You know I do not wish to hurt you…right?"

His voice was so gentle. Rachel thought of last night, when he ripped her shirt. It had scared her. But he had helped her today. She sighed. She really wished she knew what his intentions were with her. But so far he had be mostly good to her. So that's what she was going to go with.

"I know," she said quietly. "And I'm so sorry about last night. I just…you don't do that to people. Those other girls were just acting."

Pennywise nodded. "I know. But I've seen people hurt you. They still try to hurt you. I can't let them do that."

She looked at him sideways. "Why?"

Pennywise lifted her chin and brought his face close to hers. "Because you are _my_ human."

Rachel straightened in her seat, suddenly on edge. His human? What did he mean by his? And did that mean he was not human himself? Somehow she had known for a while that he was not, she just didn't know what he was. But her questions would have to wait. Her mind was buzzing. And her head was throbbing. She put her hand over the lump on her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt his hand on her temple.

"I think I need a doctor, Penny," she said weakly.

"I can take care of you."

She opened her eyes. "A _human_ doctor."

He pulled his hand back. "Oh."

Rachel reached out for him when she realized she had hurt him. Again. She gave him a pleading look. "No. That's not what I meant. Human doctors have medicine. They can examine me. They can clean my wounds."

"I can clean you. I already started."

She raised an eyebrow at him then glanced down at herself skeptically. She was still dirty and smeared with blood. "Um…"

She eyed the pail of water and the old dirty rag next to the couch. No telling where it had all come from. She bit her bottom lip. Eddie Kaspbrak would have done had heart failure by now if he had been in her place. He had to have been the world's biggest germaphobe.

"That's really nice of you, but I think I can manage."

She bent down to dip the rag in the water.

Pennywise knelt in front of her. "My saliva will heal you faster."

"Uh…" She inwardly cringed. He wanted to lick her blood?

"Like I said, I already started."

Rachel glanced at her leg again and at her arms. The smeared blood. She felt her face heat up. He had literally licked her wounds—while she was unconscious. _He tried to take care of me,_ she thought. He could have hurt her. All that time she had been unconscious, he could have hurt her, or even killed her. He even could have left her for dead, but for some reason, he hadn't. He sat there looking at her, as if waiting for her permission. Finally she smiled wearily at him. "Sure."

Pennywise bent over and lifted her leg towards his face. Slowly, he licked the trail of blood that had been running down her leg. She winced when he reached the cut. He pulled back. "Sorry." He said. He kissed the cut and she smiled, surprised by the tender gesture. He gave the cut another lick, then started working on the smaller ones.

 _He's like a giant cat,_ Rachel thought. _Yeah, one that licks blood,_ the more skeptical side of her argued back.

While Pennywise worked on her legs, she grabbed the rag and dipped it in the water, then began scrubbing her arms. She would have to take a shower as soon as she got home and apply some medicine to her cuts. She watched Pennywise as she cleaned herself. What a strange pair the two of them made: the fairytale obsessed girl and the clown. Rachel smiled and shook her head. Looks like she had made her way into her own strange fairytale.

* * *

Somehow her bike had ended up at the Neibolt house. Rachel wasn't surprised. Nothing could surprise her anymore where Pennywise was concerned. She had wondered why he hadn't just brought her back himself, but she figured it was probably because he wanted to make sure she was well enough to be left alone. It was a struggle to ride back to her house and by the time she got back, she was covered in sweat as well. It was in the afternoon and her stomach was growling. Food would have to wait though. She had just enough energy to make it to the shower and tend to her wounds. She flopped yourself on her bed and before she knew it, she was asleep again.

She spent the rest of the evening relaxing and eating. That night she felt a presence in her room again. She sat up with a jolt. Pennywise was back. Rachel got out of bed and went to him.

"Hey, Penny," she said softly. Her heart was pounding and for some reason she felt a nervous, excited feeling in her stomach.

He touched her head gently. "How is my princess feeling tonight?"

"Still achy. I spent the evening relaxing. Took some pills for my headache. The lump's already starting to go down."

Pennywise grinned. "That's good. And the rest of you?"

Rachel shrugged, feeling shy all of a sudden. "Okay, I guess."

The two of them stood there awkwardly, then Rachel gestured to her bed. "I'm gonna go lay back down. You can just…" She spread her hands. "Do whatever."

"Can I um…join you?"

She wasn't sure what to say. Did she really want him in her bed again? After today, there was no doubt that she could trust him. And just having him close was becoming a great comfort to her.

"Sure."

Rachel led the way back to her bed and he followed. She was suddenly glad that she had a full sized bed. She climbed in and got under the covers and lay on her back. Pennywise lay next to her on his side, facing her. She wondered if he could hear her racing heart. The two of them lay there for a moment, not saying anything. Rachel reached out and touched the ruffle around his neck.

"I like this. It looks like something from the Elizabethan period."

"I have had it for a long time," Pennywise said. He reached out and grabbed her hand and held it in his own. His hand dwarfed hers. "I promise I will be gentle with you tonight."

Rachel entwined her hand with his. "I trust you," she whispered. And to her surprise, she actually did.

Pennywise leaned in and sniffed her hair. He placed his hand on her stomach. Her breathing started getting heavy. He leaned over her and got right in her face. Then he surprised her yet again. He brought his lips down to hers and gave her a swift, light kiss. It was a chaste kiss. And before she knew it, he was climbing on top of her, just as he had done the night before.

"And how am I supposed to sleep like this?" Rachel teased as he straddled her.

"Why would you need to sleep? You did that most of the day."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Well I did acquire a severe head injury today."

"And I promise I will take care of that." He nodded. "I will take care of any part of you that you need me to."

"Well right now I need to sleep. And you should too." She was still very sleepy, but having him on top of her was beginning to make another need arise.

"Oh I don't think I can sleep on top of you." Pennywise giggled. His face lit up into his signature grin and he pressed himself against her. Her heart skipped a beat. She could feel him though his pantaloons. He wanted her. And the scary part was, she had to finally admit to herself, that she wanted him too.

"Hmm… you could try. I'm sure I'd be comfortable," Rachel said, playing along.

Pennywise furrowed his brow at her, all seriousness now. He grabbed her chin in his hand. "Such a delicate kitten. You know I would hurt you if I did that."

She smiled at him. "I know, Penny. I was joking."

"I won't even rip your shirt."

Rachel laughed. "Penny, I don't know of any woman who likes to have their shirt ripped. You have to be gentle. Like this."

She reached down and slowly pulled her shirt off, then tossed it on the floor and laid back down. Pennywise's yellow eyes roamed her naked chest. She took a breath, trying to slow her erratic heartbeat. He ran a gloved hand slowly up her stomach, making her muscles quiver like before. His hand ran over her breasts, first one, then the other. He pressed himself harder against her and she moaned. Pennywise removed his hands and placed them on either side of her. He leaned down over her neck and inhaled. A growl escaped him.

"Sweet, sweet, delicious desire," he purred.

He leered down at her, a dark desire in his own eyes. Rachel returned his grin eagerly. It looked like she wasn't getting anymore sleep tonight.


	7. Chapter 7

_***rated for mild sensuality***_

Riiing! Riiing!

Rachel groaned and rolled over on her stomach.

Riiing!

Her head snapped up. It was full daylight. On a Monday. She jumped out of bed naked to answer the phone and cried out when she stubbed her toe on the foot of the bed. Pennywise was asleep, laying on his back. One arm was hanging over the side and his mouth was hanging open, his chin covered in drool. Rachel hobbled over to the phone and grabbed it on the sixth ring.

"Hello."

"Rachel?" It was Mrs. Stout.

Rachel put her hand on her forehead and sank to the floor. Her little toe was throbbing. "Mrs. Stout, I am so sorry."

"And why aren't you at work, missy?" Mrs. Stout replied tartly.

"I forgot to call you yesterday. I was in an accident."

"An accident? Good gracious."

"Oh I'm ok," Rachel said quickly. "It was a bike accident. I just got kind of banged up." _In more ways than one_ , she thought.

"Well stay home and get some rest. No need to overexert yourself. You should be back tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Rachel said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, then crossed her legs and let herself droop. She heard Pennywise get out of bed.

"I stubbed my toe, Penny." Rachel sighed. "One of the few parts of my body that doesn't hurt right now."

Pennywise patted her on the head. "My poor clumsy kitten," he said in a mocking tone.

"It wasn't clumsiness that made me fall into the ravine," Rachel said hotly.

Pennywise made some whining noises. He crouched down behind her. "You're awfully grumpy this morning," he said.

"I ache everywhere," said Rachel.

"And what do humans like to do to help their pain?" he asked.

Rachel thought for a minute. "I know a good hot shower usually helps. Or a bath."

Pennywise giggled and his face lit up. He put his face right next to her ear. "Why don't you take a bath, kitten?" he whispered in a sultry tone. "Or I can give you one."

Rachel tucked one of her chestnut locks behind her ear and glanced at Pennywise skeptically. "You want to give me a bath?"

He giggled again. "Why not?"

She started thinking of the mess he would make. He would have water everywhere.

"But you would get all wet," she pointed out.

His hands snaked under her arms from behind and he placed them on her bare breasts. "You did not complain last night, my dear."

"Yeah but that was just a couple of your fing- whoa!" she exclaimed as he hoisted her to her feet.

"Get yourself going. I want to make you nice and wet." Pennywise gave Rachel a gentle push forward than slapped her on the ass causing her to jump. She blushed.

"This is going to be interesting," she mumbled as she walked down the hallway. She didn't even bother to put a robe on. She still felt awkward about Pennywise seeing her naked, and even though they hadn't actually had sex, he had still been intimate with her body in a way that no one else ever had. She put her bath water running, then went to the kitchen to get some pain medicine. The curtains over the sink were open, so she quickly closed them. She fixed a glass of water, then took some pain meds. She rolled her shoulder, which was starting to feel stiff. What she really needed was to massage it.

She went back to the bathroom and stopped short when she got in the doorway. Pennywise was sitting on the toilet with the lid down. He had one arm bent with his elbow resting on his leg and his chin on his knuckles. He was like a satirical version of the Thinker. Her face lit up in a grin.

He glanced over at her and stood. She walked into the bathroom and he met her in the middle of the room. His eyes roved up and down her body. Rachel worried her lip as she started feeling self-conscious. Suddenly the room started feeling very warm.

Pennywise's hand came up to touch her dark brown hair. He lifted a piece of it. "One day I will undress you from head to toe," he said.

Rachel smiled bashfully and lowered her gaze. "Maybe so."

He gestured towards the tub. Steam was rising from the water. Rachel turned off the faucet and bent to feel the water. It was hot, but not unbearably. She took the Band-Aid off of her leg. The cut had almost completely healed itself. She sighed as she climbed in the tub. "Hmm this feels so good." She sloshed the water over her legs.

"I like to wash my hair first." She got the cup and poured it down her long curtain of hair. It reached about halfway down her back. She rinsed it again. Pennywise lifted some of her hair.

"It would look so lovely floating around you." His voice was almost a growl.

She paused and slowly glanced at him. His yellow eyes stared right at her face and his lips were pursed. She found it a bit unsettling. "F-floating? You mean like… in a pool?"

His visage changed to a more happy one. He giggled. "Of course in a pool," he said in a giddy voice.

Rachel kept rinsing. "There is a public pool here. I actually enjoy swimming."

Pennywise nodded. "Well then we'll go there."

She laughed. "Pennywise, we would have to go at night. And it's closed at night."

He put his hand on her knee. "If you want to swim, we will swim."

Rachel sighed. She wanted so badly to be able to bring him out in public. How could she get him to understand that that just was not possible? "We'll see."

She finished rinsing her hair and started lathering it. Pennywise started bouncing, his mouth in a grin.

He giggled. "I wanna do it."

Rachel looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Um…okay."

She turned sideways in the tub with her back to him. Pennywise took off his gloves and placed them on the toilet lid. He continued lathering her hair.

"So, tell me about your life," he said.

Rachel told him about how she worked at the library. She told him about her cousins and about Henry Bowers and his gang of goons. "They're constantly terrorizing my cousin and his friends," she said.

Rachel's head bobbed around as Pennywise lathered it. She winced every time he touched the tender spot in the back.

"Henry and Patrick are the two worse though."

"Hmm," was all Pennywise said.

"Yesterday, they had some poor kid cornered on Lovers' Bridge. Henry had his knife out. I could hear the poor kid hollering. God only knows what Henry was doing to him."

When Pennywise was finished Rachel turned back straight in the tub, rinsed her hair out, and started soaping a rag.

A mischievous grin appeared on Pennywise's face. He held out his hand. "I can do that, my dear."

Rachel froze. A tingling sensation started in her mound. "Um…I can get it, thanks. I would really like to finish up."

His face fell. "Oh." He pulled back his hand. "Well then I will wait for you in your room." He leaned forward some more and planted a firm kiss on her mouth. Rachel returned the kiss with fervor. Her tingling turned to throbbing. This was just how last night started. She could almost feel his gloved fingers rubbing her, feel them pushing into her entrance. She broke the kiss.

"Thank you for washing my hair."

Pennywise's grin returned. "Don't take too long, kit-ten." He kissed the tip of her nose, grabbed his gloves, and left the bathroom.

Rachel's heart was pounding. She took a deep breath, trying to calm the urge that had almost begun to overtake her. What in the hell was she getting herself into?

* * *

Rachel decided to wrap herself in a towel to walk to her room. After her almost second moment of weakness, she decided not to tempt Pennywise any farther. He was in her room looking at her drawing portfolio.

"Oh good. I had been wanting to show those to you," she commented.

"My little princess draws well," he said.

"Well I wouldn't really say that," said Rachel as she scampered about her room searching for fresh clothes. She decided on a pale peach shirt and navy cotton shorts.

"What is this one about?" Pennywise asked.

She went to see the drawing that he was holding out to her, her towel still wrapped around her. It was a pencil color and ink drawing of a man and a woman reaching out to each other. The man was wearing yellow and white robes and his hair was made of flames. The sun was behind him to his left. The woman was wearing a long flowing black dress etched in silver. Her raven black hair streamed out behind her. The moon was behind her to the right.

"That's the sun and the moon," Rachel stated. "They fell in love, but they can't be together."

Pennywise frowned. "Why not?"

"Well… because he represents light and she represents dark. Neither can exist in the sky at the same time. It's a mythological story about why we have day and night."

Pennywise tilted his head to the side. "And in your play, do you find someone that you can be with?"

Rachel nodded. "Of course. After her step sisters attack her, they leave for the ball. Cinderella's fairy godmother shows up and turns her torn dress into a beautiful gown. Then she turns a pumpkin into a coach to take her to the ball." Rachel explained to him the rest of the story of Cinderella.

"So her and her prince get to be together?"

"Yes."

"Because of her fairy godmother's magic?"

"Hmm… yeah I guess so. I don't think Cinderella would have been able to meet him without it."

Pennywise stepped closer to her. "Do you want me to go to your play?"

Rachel didn't know what to say. "Well, I would like you to. I don't know how that would be possible though."

He leaned forward and grabbed her shoulders. "If I _could_ go, would you want me to?"

Rachel didn't say anything at first. But finally she decided. "Yes."

Pennywise giggled. He clapped his hands. "Then your wish shall be granted, princess."

Rachel gave Pennywise a tiny smile, but she sighed inwardly. _There is no way this is going to work,_ she thought. She leaned against his firm chest. "I do wish that. More than anything."


	8. Chapter 8

Chris Sheffield grunted as Rachel stepped on his foot. Again. She grimaced. "Sorry."

"That's alright," Chris chuckled as he and Rachel danced. "I know this is rough for you."

Rachel shook her head. She glanced down briefly. "And this dress isn't helping either."

This was their first full dress rehearsal. They had four more days left to go until the big premiere. Chris spun Rachel around and her shoe snagged on the bottom of her dress. She stumbled, but Chris caught her. Another dancing couple bumped into them.

"Cut! Cut!" Mrs. Tunstall yelled from the front row. Everyone stopped. Rachel fumbled with her fingers. She shook her head. "I am never going to get this," she whispered.

Chris put a hand on her back. "Yes, you are."

Mrs. Tunstall stood at the front of the stage, leaning on it. "Rachel, Rachel." She shook her head. "We have four more days left. This is the most pivotal scene in the play."

"I know. I'm sorry," Rachel said desperately.

"You need to get this right," Mrs. Tunstall told her. She went back to her seat. "Let's take it again from the top," she hollered.

After practice, Rachel sat on bench behind the stage, tying her sneakers.

"You know she's like that with everyone, right?" came a voice on her left.

Rachel turned. Chris was standing with his hands in his pockets.

She finished tying her shoe. "I know. But she knows how much I struggle with ballroom dancing."

Chris sauntered up to her. "And she wants you to be the best."

Rachel stood up. "Right. Little Miss Graceful me." She waved her hand in the air.

Chris was right in front of her now. "You're gonna get it."

"I don't have much time left," Rachel responded.

Chris leaned in towards her. "Maybe you just need to find someone you like dancing with." He patted her on the shoulder and left.

* * *

Rachel thought about what Chris had said as she drove. Find someone she liked dancing with? Did he mean find someone else to practice for the play with? Or did he mean something else? She did like dancing with Chris. And acting with him, even though they just had a couple of scenes together. They hadn't really talked that much since they had been cast as Cinderella and the prince, but he seemed very nice. Even in school he seemed like he had been a nice person. Fullback on the football team. Popular. But he had never been what she would call 'boyfriend materiel'. Not for her anyway. Rachel was quiet and reserved, until she got up on stage anyway. That was her place. That was her home away from home.

She pulled up at the Denbroughs. Aunt Susan had invited her to dinner after practice. She was in the dining room setting the table when Rachel walked in.

"Hey, Aunt Susan," Rachel said cheerfully.

"Hey, hon," her aunt replied. "Good gracious, what happened to you?" she said when she glanced up and saw Rachel.

"I wrecked my bike."

Aunt Susan came over to inspect Rachel's arms, which sported a few bruises. Some of the cuts still lingered. "You must have fallen down somewhere rough."

Rachel folded in her lips. She gave a curt nod. "Yeah. You can say that."

Bill and Georgie walked into the room. Rachel smiled and held out her arms to Georgie. "Hey bud, come give me a hug."

Georgie ran up to her and she squeezed him tightly.

"Hey, cuz," she told Bill.

"Rachel, I need to t-talk to you."

She could tell on his face that something was wrong. "Okay."

Bill glanced at his mom, and Rachel followed his gaze. "N-not here," he said.

Rachel followed him into the living room. "What is it?"

"Did you h-hear about Patrick?"

Rachel took a deep breath. "No. What happened?"

"He went m-missing."

Her eyes grew wide. "What? Since when?"

"Since Sunday."

Rachel started wracking her brain. The last time she had seen Patrick was on Sunday morning when he jumped over the bridge to go after the boy from the library. Three days ago. But of course she couldn't tell Bill about that. Not without telling him everything else that had happened afterwards.

She licked her lips. "There could have been a lot of things that happened to him."

"I know. And I still w-worry about Georgie too. Ever since the s-storm last week, h-he doesn't like to play o-outside much. It's like he s-scared of something."

Rachel raised her eyebrows. _No guessing as to who,_ she thought.

She put her arm on Bill's shoulder. "I'm sure Georgie will be ok. Patrick too. Let's go get ready for dinner. We can talk about this later."

* * *

Rachel lay awake that night, her senses overly alert. Patrick Hockstetter was missing. Had Pennywise had anything to do with it? Every time she would close her eyes she would see intense yellow ones staring back at her. And those red lips. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else. She saw herself dancing with Chris, his green eyes shining down at her as he twirled her around on stage, him in his royal overcoat and her in her shiny blue gown. She smiled. She finally fell asleep.

 _She was surrounded by satin. Like she was inside a large parachute. She tried and tried to climb up out of it, but it just kept closing in around her. She pulled and pulled, sinking farther and farther. She called for help, screamed. All of a sudden, the parachute started pulling away. She could feel it sliding down her, until it was gone, as though someone had yanked it out from underneath her._

 _Then she was floating. The air was still around her and it felt so light. She felt light, weightless. Her hair even floated. Everything felt so calm, so peaceful. She felt something gently grab her leg and slowly pull her down. It was Pennywise. She landed almost flush up against him. He put his arms around her waist. He was so much taller than her, she had to crane her neck up to look at him. His chest felt so firm, solid. She put out a hand to touch it. More satin. He leaned down towards her. His eyes were a silvery yellow._

 _"Did you like floating?" he asked._

 _"Yes." Her voice was an echo._

 _"Would you like to do it again?"_

 _She nodded slowly._ _She felt so drowsy, like she could just sink into sleep._

 _"You can do a lot of things, Rachel. If you come down here. You can do a lot of things with me."_

 _"Mmhmm."_ _Her eyes started closing._

 _"Come to the well, Rachel." His voice sounded distant now. "Come to the well."_

Rachel felt something rubbing against her arm. She moaned. The rubbing stopped. Something snaked around her waist. She opened her eyes. She was laying on her left side facing the wall. It was still dark. She reached out to touch the arm that was around her. Firm satin. She smiled. He was here.

She rubbed his arm. "Hmm… why is it that every time I need you, you show up?"

He leaned over and started nuzzling her cheek with his nose. "You needed me, kitten?"

"Well… not really needed. I was just having a nightmare. It started out as one, but then it actually got kind of…nice."

"Reealllly….How so?" She could hear the amusement in his voice.

Rachel rolled over on her back. Pennywise settled his hand on her stomach.

"It was silly actually." Now that she thought about it, it was kind of silly. "I was… in some kind of parachute thing." She waved her hand about as she explained her dream to him. His mouth went into an "o" shape when she got to the part about the floating.

"And did you enjoy it?" he asked eagerly.

"Yeah, I actually did," she admitted. "It was like there was no gravity, like absolutely nothing holding me down. I was just…floating. It was really peaceful."

"Then what happened?"

She grinned. It was like she was telling an exciting story to a little kid.

"Then you pulled me down. And I was in your arms." She put her hand on his wrist and started playing with his ruffle.

He put his face down to where it was inches from hers. She could smell his sweet cotton candy breath. "And did you enjoy that?"

Rachel sighed. "I always enjoy that. I just wish…"

He brought his hand up to stroke her cheek. "What do you wish? Tell me."

She took a deep breath. "I just… I wish that me and you could just…hang out together. You know? You could come visit me at the library. We could go to lunch together. Go to the park, just," she shrugged her shoulders. "Something."

Pennywise brought his hand down to rest on her shoulder. "If that is what you want, then it is mine to give you."

Rachel's heart started pounding in excitement and eagerness. "I do want that. I really, really do. It's just… what are people going to think of us?"

Pennywise put his hand on her neck gently. "My dear, sweet Rachel, do you not trust me?"

She sighed. "I do trust you." Yet inside she was thinking 'what in the world is he going to do?'


	9. Chapter 9

"Good afternoon, Derry Public Library. This is Rachel."

It had been a busy day so far. Rachel was expecting another patron on the phone, but the voice she heard instead not only shocked her, but made her blood run cold.

"Rachel, this is Mrs. Tunstall. Listen, I know you're at work, but I had to tell you this. Chris got in

a car accident last night. His mother called me. He isn't hurt too bad, but he will have to be out for the rest of the play."

Rachel pulled the phone away from her mouth. It felt like the world had fallen away. Chris had been hurt? She had just seen him last night.

"Hello, are you there?" Mrs. Tunstall's voice sounded far away.

Rachel brought the phone back. She swallowed the lump that had now formed in her throat. "I'm here. That's um… that's horrible to hear."

"We're still going to have practice tonight. We need to plan what's going to happen next."

Rachel nodded even though she knew Mrs. Tunstall couldn't see her. "I'll be there."

"I don't know how this is going to work, Rachel," Mrs. Tunstall said frantically.

"We'll figure something out, Mrs. Tunstall. It'll be alright." Rachel could feel her face becoming flushed and her vision became blurry by the tears that now threatened to fall. Rachel hung up the phone and excused herself. She walked calmly away from the desk, but the tears fell as she made her way to the storage room. She sat when she got to the bottom of the steps and wept. This wasn't fair. None of this was fair, not for her or Chris, not for anyone. She felt a hand on the top of her head and glanced up. Without a second thought, she descended the last step and threw herself into Pennywise's firm embrace.

He gently ran his hand down the back of her hair. "Why is my kitten so sad?"

"We can't do our play, Penny," she sobbed.

"No!" he said in a gasping voice. He stepped away from her and grabbed her shoulders. "And why not?"

"Chris Sheffield got in a car wreck last night." She wiped the fresh tears off her face. "He was our prince."

Pennywise scowled. "That's not good at all."

Rachel sniffled. "No, it's not. And we only have three more days left after today. Our play is Saturday."

"And no one else can take his place?" Pennywise asked.

Rachel shook her head.

"I am sure things will work themselves out."

Rachel let out a bitter laugh. "How can they? This play was everything to me, Penny. Two months we've been working on this, and now it's just…" she threw her hands up in the air. "Gone. It's all gone." She turned away from him and crossed her arms.

Pennywise lowered his head. "I will fix this," he mumbled, more to himself than to Rachel.

"I wish you could," she whispered. Then in a normal voice, she said, "I still need to go to the theatre tonight, so if you want to see me, you can-" She turned to face him, but he was gone.

* * *

Rachel pulled opened the door of the theatre. Her stomach had been in knots all day. She had just known that Mrs. Tunstall would say that the play was going to be cancelled. As she approached the stage, there was a small group standing on it. Regina and Jessica were there and so was Mrs. Hughes, who played the fairy godmother, as well as several other cast members.

Mrs. Tunstall was standing off to the right. There was someone standing next to her that Rachel had never seen before. He was tall and lanky and wore a plain black t-shirt and jeans, with brown hair that was slightly slicked over. When he saw Rachel coming up the center aisle, his full lips turned up into a wide, easy smile. He was very nice looking, she decided.

Mrs. Tunstall turned when she saw Rachel approach the stage. "Ah, Rachel, you're here. Good. I have a very important announcement that I need to make."

Rachel worried her bottom lip as she climbed the stage steps. Everyone was staring at her as she went to stand next to the group. Some of their faces mirrored her own worried visage.

Mrs. Tunstall clapped her hands. "Right, I have a feeling that this is everyone that we're going to get tonight, so I'll get started. As you all know, I have sent out phone calls today telling you the bad news. Chris, our prince, got into a bad car accident last night. It happened out by Lovers' Bridge."

Rachel's heart skipped a beat. Lovers' Bridge? That was the last place that she had seen Patrick Hockstetter.

Mrs. Tunstall continued. "According to his mother, Chris apparently lost control. He is in stable condition right now, but apparently he injured his neck and left arm."

Rachel put a hand over her mouth. Poor Chris. She glanced over at the new guy. The whole time Mrs. Tunstall had been speaking, Rachel noticed, he had been watching her intently. He was still watching her. Rachel shifted uncomfortably.

"And now on a lighter note, I have another announcement," said Mrs. Tunstall. "Despite this major setback, believe it or not, our show will _still_ go on."

Rachel's eyes grew wide. How was that possible? A few people whispered around her.

Mrs. Tunstall gestured to the handsome guy in black standing next to her. "This young man here has been watching us practicing," she turned to the group, "from the shadows it seems. He has taken an interest in us and has decided to try out as Chris's replacement."

Rachel's jaw dropped. Everyone started talking at once.

"We only have three days left," someone called out.

Mrs. Tunstall held out her hands in a surrendering gesture. "It's try him out or we don't have a play at all."

Rachel stared at the guy. He did seem very familiar. She tried to wrack her brain to try to figure out where she had seen him before, but all it did was fuel the headache that she was starting to get. She stepped out in the middle of the stage. "Look, Prince Henry's roll is not that big," she said loudly. The group quieted down, all eyes now on her. "There's only two songs, and then the dancing scene. He would have to practice a lot, an awful lot." She directed that last part at the new guy. "But if he's got what we need, I think he can pull it off. We don't have anything to lose at this point."

Mrs. Tunstall nodded. "Spoken like the star of the show. And on that note, I guess I'd better introduce our new prince." She clapped the new guy on the shoulder. "Everyone, this is Roman..." she pointed at him and squinted.

"Dragsraks," he replied.

"Dragsraks." Mrs. Tunstall waggled her finger at him. "I'm gonna get it right."

Roman smiled and Rachel couldn't help but smile along with him. His smile had kind of an awkward, goofy charm to it, and when he glanced at Rachel, her own smile widened, but she looked away.

"Roman, this is Rachel, our Cinderella."

Roman nodded at Rachel, who gave him a small wave.

"Rachel, why don't you go in the back and see if we have any extra scripts lying around," said Mrs. Tunstall. "That way the two of you can get to know each other."

Rachel brought him to the props room. An old filing cabinet stood against the wall. She started digging through it.

"One of the main rules of casting: always keep extra copies of the script." She fished one out and handed it to him. "Just in case."

"Yeah I'm sorry to hear about the other guy," Roman said with a grimace. "That's pretty harsh."

"I know. I went to school with him."

Roman started rifling through the pages.

"Your part's towards the end," Rachel pointed out.

He nodded. "Yeah I figured that."

"So you've been watching our play? I hadn't seen you? And we've been practicing for a while."

Roman shrugged. "I hadn't been watching for long. Just a couple of weeks. I stay in the back. I don't like to bother anyone."

"Well it's a good thing you've been around. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't shown up."

Roman chuckled. "Don't get your hopes up yet. I don't really know how I'll do for the dancing part."

Rachel's face fell. "Oh. You uh... struggle with that too?"

"Oh yeah. I can cut a little jig all day, but as far as all that fancy stuff..." He pointed downwards. "Two left feet."

Rachel rubbed her neck. "Oh wow. This is uh... this is going to be interesting."

Roman reached out and lightly grazed the underneath of her arm. "What happened here?"

She looked under her arm where he had touched her. It was one of her bigger bruises. "Oh that?" She lowered her arm. "Biking accident."

Roman frowned. "So you and your prince both got in accidents?"

Rachel started thinking. "Yeah." She nodded. "Yeah we did." _And at the same place_ , she thought. "How weird is that?"

He shrugged. "Maybe someone's out to get the two of you?"

"Oh gosh, I hope not. I know someone was after me that day, but..." She stopped when she saw Roman's eyes widen. "Maybe we should head back. They're probably wondering what's taking so long."

And that's exactly what Mrs. Tunstall asked. Rachel shot Roman a pair of raised eyebrows and he gave her a conspritual grin.

"Now, Roman, how are you at dancing?" Mrs. Tunstall asked.

Several minutes later, she was instructing Roman on the proper way to position his hands to dance with Rachel. Rachel found herself chewing on a hangnail. Was Roman as bad of a dancer as he had said? What if Mrs. Tunstall changed her mind about him?

Mrs. Tunstall moved aside and Rachel found herself facing her new co-actor. He was much taller than Chris, who had just been a head taller than her. His eyes were green, just like Chris's. And his lips. He had full, thick lips just like-

Rachel gasped as Roman was about to put his hand on her waist.

He pulled his hand back. "What?"

"Nothing. You just reminded me of someone."

Roman smiled and reached for her waist again. Rachel put her hand on his shoulder and they clasped hands. "I hope that's not a bad thing," he said.

She smiled. "It's not. It's just odd."

They started waltzing.

Roman chuckled. "Well it's good to know that you think I'm odd."

Rachel scowled at him. "That's not what I mean. I just... I'm kind of talking to someone right now. And I just realized that you kind of remind me of him. You're both really tall. And your smiles..."

Roman smiled at her and Rachel could have sworn she was looking at Pennywise. She stopped their dance and abruptly released him. Her heart started pounding as she stared up at him. Could it be? Was it possible?

"Rachel?"

Rachel backed away from Roman, her eyes locked on him. She felt a hand on her arm and jumped.

"Rachel, is something wrong?"

"No, I'm alright," she told Mrs. Tunstall.

But the truth was, she wasn't alright. But for the sake of keeping up a professional face, she got into position again so that they could finish practicing the dance. Roman's steps did falter somewhat at times and Rachel couldn't help but wonder if it was just his tall, lanky frame that was making ballroom dancing so awkward for him... or the fact that he wasn't used to his body.

When they were finished, Mrs. Tunstall complemented them on how well they had done for their first time dancing together.

"And you didn't even trip once," she told Rachel.

No, she hadn't, Rachel realized. In fact, now that she thought about it, she had actually enjoyed dancing with Roman. She had been nervous at first, but having him so close to her had been somewhat relaxing to her, like there had been a familiarity in his embrace.

Rachel doused that idea quickly. _There is no way that he's Pennywise_ , she told herself. It just wasn't possible. But once again she glanced up at him. Once again he smiled at her. And she couldn't help but wonder.

When practice was over, Mrs. Tunstall declared that Rachel was going to be responsible for helping Roman practice his songs and dancing.

"There is just one problem though," Mrs. Tunstall added. "The prince's costume."

Roman smiled and gave their director a reassuring nod. "Don't worry. I have it covered."

"Well good. It'll just have to do, I guess."

Rachel and Roman walked to the door together. "So where do you want to practice at?" Roman asked.

"I guess we'll have to do it at my house," said Rachel. "We can do it after I get off of work."

Roman held up one finger. A mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Why don't we practice at the Neibolt house?"

Rachel stared at him. "The Neibolt house?"

He waved his hand. "Why not? No one goes in there. There won't be anyone to see us."

"Yeah but it's still, like, private property. And then there's all the dirt and cobwebs to think about."

Roman held out his hand, a look of amusement on his face. "Wait, you've been inside the Neibolt house?"

Rachel's jaw dropped. _Crap, I have got to stop doing that,_ she thought. She shrugged. "Well I was just guessing that was what was in there."

Roman's grin returned. "Sure."

She explained to him how to get to her house.

"So I'll see you tomorrow evening?" she said.

He nodded. "Tomorrow evening."

Rachel told him goodbye and left. Roman watched her walk to her car. "Sleep well, princess. You'll be doing plenty of that soon enough."

No one saw him talking to himself. Or his eyes flash yellow.

 ****** I want to give a big shout out to yasdnilgoth for collaborating with me on this chapter and for also coming up with Roman's last name. Dragsraks = Skarsgard backwards.**


	10. Chapter 10

Rachel glanced up at the clock for about the tenth time in the past hour. It had been a good while since she had been this anxious to get off of work. She shook her head. "Why didn't I just tell him to meet me here?" she scolded herself under her breath. She took a deep breath and grabbed a stack of books to shelve. Several minutes later she was reaching up to one of the tall shelves when she heard Mrs. Stout's voice.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Rachel."

Rachel lowered her hand, the book she was about to shelve still in it. Her heart was pounding as she slowly walked around the shelf. She saw him from behind, standing in front of the circulation desk, but she still recognized him.

Mrs. Stout pointed at her. "Here she is right here."

Roman turned. His face lit up when he saw her. "Hiya, girly."

"Hey," was all she could say as she tried her best to calmly walk towards him. "How did you know I work here? I don't remember telling you."

He shrugged. "I asked around."

"Not too long, Rachel. You know our policy on visitors." Though Mrs. Stout's voice was serious, Rachel could tell her boss was trying to hide a grin.

"I won't."

Rachel quickly took in Roman's full length. Today he was wearing a white shirt, under an open casual black jacket with jeans.

"You're uh… here early," Rachel said.

He shrugged again. "I thought we could hang out for a while before practice."

Rachel glanced at the desk. Mrs. Stout was sitting at the computer, typing.

"I'm still at work."

"That's alright. How much longer do you have?"

Rachel's stomach let out an embarrassing growl. Roman glanced at her questioningly.

Rachel grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't eat much for lunch."

"Oh well we can go get you something then. After you get off. Where do you like to eat at?"

She tilted her head at him, her grin widening. Was he asking her out?

"Um… yeah sure we can go eat at the diner."

He smiled at her. "Great."

"I get out of here at five," she told him. She glanced at the clock. It was 4:35.

His smile softened. "Then I will wait."

Rachel's stomach flip-flopped. He really was cute, she thought. And considerate. A patron had walked to the desk. She gave Roman one last smile and went to help them.

* * *

Rachel and Roman casually walked down the sidewalk towards the Rocket, Derry's popular diner.

"So how long have you been working at the library for?" he asked.

"Several months. I just graduated last summer and started working there not long after."

"And you've been at the theatre for how long now?"

"Almost two years. I started as an understudy the summer before my Senior year."

"And you like it there?"

"I love it. I feel so comfortable up on stage. Playing in all those roles."

"It looks like a blast. I know I had fun last night."

Rachel smiled at the memory. "Yeah it was fun."

"And then tonight we get to do it again."

Rachel's grin widened at the eagerness in his voice. She nodded. "Yep."

Roman put his arm out to stop her. "Look, we don't have to practice at your house if you're not comfortable. I know you just met me."

Rachel sighed. "No, it's alright. I'm fine with it."

"Are you sure? We can always go to the Neibolt house," he added with a chuckle. "There's a lot more privacy, so that you don't have to worry about anyone watching us. I'm sure the rooms are bigger too. Or we could do it out back in the grass."

"I'm sure that would be a fun and easy spot to dance in," she said with a laugh. They started walking again.

She remembered the day that she had been at the Neibolt house with Pennywise. Had that already been four days ago? She could almost still feel his tongue against her legs, licking at her wounds. She wondered what it would feel like to have his tongue on something else.

Rachel stopped short and let out a shaky gasp.

Roman's brow furrowed, a look of concern on his face. "Are you alright?"

Rachel furtively glanced around her, like she would see Pennywise staring at her from somewhere. "I'm fine," she replied.

She was going to take off again when her mind was filled with a lewd image—Pennywise's head between her legs as she lay there naked, her head thrown back in ecstasy as he went down on her.

Rachel's heart started pounding. She didn't know where that thought had come from all of a sudden, but at that moment, all she wanted to do was find Pennywise and bury herself in his passionate embrace, to feel him buried within her. She placed her hands on the outer upper parts of her thighs and squeezed.

Roman put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're alright? Your face looks flushed."

Her face was indeed burning. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. I guess this heat's just starting to get to me."

"Well let's get you inside, then."

The tenderness in his voice touched her, and she quickly dispersed of the lurid images that had just taken over her brain.

She didn't even notice the woman who was hanging up a new 'Missing' poster.

* * *

"Are you gonna get anything to eat?"

Rachel and Roman sat at a front table. Rachel idly glanced at the menu, although she had already decided on a burger and chocolate shake.

Roman was staring down at his own menu. "No thanks. I'm fine, princess."

Rachel's head shot up. "What?"

He glanced up at her. "I'm fine. I already ate."

"No, it's what you called me."

Roman glanced sideways at her and pursed his lips.

"You called me princess." Rachel folded up her menu. "Someone else calls me that too."

Roman grinned at her. And once again she was reminded of certain clown. She opened her mouth to answer, but the front door opened. She glanced behind her. Aunt Susan walked in with Bill and Georgie. Rachel waved when she saw them. Aunt Susan smiled and waved back. She and the boys walked up to Rachel.

"Well hello, you two." Aunt Susan was all smiles.

Rachel stood up to give her aunt a hug. She went to hug Georgie, but he slowly moved away from her, his eyes glued on something.

"Georgie?" Rachel asked.

"Oh he's just being shy," said Aunt Susan. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Roman." Rachel pointed at Roman. "Roman, this is my Aunt Susan."

Roman stood and shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He sat back down and waved at Georgie.

Rachel glanced down at her nephew. He was staring at Roman with a confused, terrified look on his face. Apparently Bill noticed also, because he too was staring back and forth between the two.

Rachel met Roman's gaze. She stared at him with her eyes narrowed. He smiled back, and she hesitantly returned the gesture.

Why was Georgie staring at Roman like that? The boy had never seen him before. Or had he?

* * *

Rachel slammed the front door a little harder than she intended to. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"That's alright," Roman replied. He took in his surroundings as Rachel hung up her keys. "So this is where you live?"

Rachel shrugged. "It's home."

They stood facing each other. The only sounds were the clock on the kitchen wall and the low hum of the refrigerator.

"So you're still not talking. You were quiet the whole ride here."

Rachel strode up to Roman, her eyes narrowed, and studied him. Really studied him- the curvature of his lips, his bit of a lazy left eye, even his posture.

She shook her head, her eyes not leaving his. "I should have known. The whole time I should have known. Even looking like this, Georgie still recognized you."

Roman was quiet for a moment. "And you're shocked that I am capable of this?" He gestured at himself.

Rachel crossed her arms. "I don't know what you're capable of anymore, Pennywise. Last night I was supposed to dance with Chris. He wasn't there, but you were. Or rather, Roman was."

She strode past him into the living room.

"Of course I showed up. I couldn't let something like this go bad for you," he said defensively.

Rachel whirled around. "And Chris's accident? I guess that was just a coincidence."

She saw Roman's muscles tense in his jaw. "I didn't hurt Chris."

"So you just wanted to scare him? Like you did Jessica and Regina?"

"I didn't do it on purpose," Roman shot back. "I was just watching him. He must have seen me and got scared."

He took a step towards Rachel, but she backed away.

"You know I would never hurt you right?"

"But you're not afraid hurt other people?" Rachel's voice was ice. "You could have killed him, Pennywise!"

"I know that!" he shouted. "Do you think I wanted that? Do you think I'm some kind of monster?"

She brought her hands up by her face. "I don't know what you are," she yelled, her voice cracking.

"I can smell the fear on you, baby girl. I need you to not be like that right now."

"I am not afraid. I'm..." She put her hands on her temples. "I'm freaking out." Rachel was shaking violently now. She choked out a sob. "I don't know how to deal with this."

Roman closed the distance between them and grabbed her arms. "Rachel, please."

His voice was so desperate, so sincere it made her heart wrench.

"Rachel, have I ever hurt you? Have I ever done anything to cause you discomfort or pain? I have only done everything that I have done for you because you are so, so special to me."

He gently pulled her arms away, revealing her now tear stained face.

"I need you to trust me. Please."

Rachel turned her face away from him. Another tear fell. "How can I trust you if I don't even know what you are?" Even her voice was shaking.

Roman sighed deeply. "I'm from somewhere else. Let's just leave it at that for now."

Rachel snorted. "So are you an alien or something? Are you going to beam me up into your UFO?" She rolled her eyes. "That's ridiculous."

Roman smirked. "No more ridiculous than a girl believing a frog will turn into a prince."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. Roman put his arm on her waist and grabbed her hand.

"No more ridiculous than a fairy godmother who turns pumpkins into coaches."

He placed her other hand on his shoulder and turned sideways, taking her with him. Rachel gave him a small grin as she let him lead her into a waltz around her living room.

"Those are just fairytales, Roman."

"Well then you better start believing in them, Ms. Porter" Roman spun her around, then she turned back to face him, a mischievous grin on his handsome face.

"Because you're in one."


	11. Chapter 11

The door opened and Cinderella stepped through. She glanced around. There were dancers in the aisle, dancers on the stage. She started walking slowly, hoping to make a quiet entrance. The prince was sitting on the throne, drumming his fingers on one of its arms, though out of boredom or impatience, she didn't know. Her eyes were on him. She never even noticed that the dancers in front of her had stopped, staring at her, as were some of the ones on stage. The music stopped. The prince glanced around with a look of confusion on his face.

That is when he saw her. His jaw fell slack and he slowly rose from his seat, as if in a trance. Cinderella slowly approached the steps, as did the prince. She lifted her dress, and as she walked up she could barely hear him gasp.

Under the stage lights her dress shimmered like a pale blue diamond. A pair of sparkly blue butterfly wings sat on each shoulder.

And her face. The prince had never seen a creature so beautiful. Light blue and silver glitter adorned her eyes and the tops of her cheeks. Her hair was pulled back and curled.

She was like a fairy queen from an ancient and magical land.

Cinderella eyed him in return. His overcoat was a black and adorned with silver lines that ran like cracks or spider webs along it. His shirt was gray with a ruffle down the middle and matching gray breaches.

He smiled at her, a smile that would make any woman want to dance wildly in the moonlight before joining her lips to his in a passionate, searing kiss.

She curtsied. He bowed back. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it, then motioned for the orchestra to start up again. He put his hand on her waist and pulled her into a sweeping waltz. She held on to him and let herself get lost.

(((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))

" _Ten minutes ago, I met you_

 _I looked up when you came through the door_

 _My head started reeling_

 _You gave me the feeling_

 _The room had no ceiling or floor"_

The prince sang to Cinderella in his rich, clear voice.

" _Ten minutes ago I saw you_

 _And we murmured our how do you do's_

 _I wanted to ring out the bells_

 _And fling out my arms_

 _And to sing of the news"_

He clasped her by the hands.

" _I have found her_

 _She's an angel_

 _With the dust of the stars in her eyes"_

He brought his hand up to touch her cheek.

" _We are dancing, we are flying_

 _And she's taking me back to the sky_

 _In the arms of my love, I'm flying_

 _Over mountain and meadow and glen_

 _And I like it so well, that for all I can tell_

 _I may never come back again_

 _I may never come back to earth again"_

They danced again. When the song had ended, he placed his hand on her cheek and brought his lips towards her.

 _Ding!_

Cinderella pulled back before his lips could touch hers. "What was that?"

"Just the clock on the tower." He tried to kiss her again.

 _Ding!_

She pulled back again. "I should go." She turned to leave. He grabbed her arm.

"Wait, must you leave so soon?"

The clock struck again.

"Yes."

She tried to leave again, but he grabbed her again.

"Please, I don't even know you're name." She glanced back at him. The clock struck again.

"I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be."

 _Ding!_

Cinderella pulled her arm away, lifted her dress, and ran off.

The prince raised his arm. "Wait." He took off after her. "Please, I don't even know your name. How will I find you? Please, wait!"

Cinderella ran down the steps. Halfway down the aisle, she stopped. One of her shoes had fallen off. She saw the prince in hot pursuit and ran, never looking back again.

(((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))

The prince and his advisors were just about to leave.

"Wait!"

"No!" Lady Tramaine yelled at the same time.

The prince turned and saw her. He took in her ragged dress, her soot covered face.

"And who is this young lady?" he asked.

Lady Tramaine stepped forward quickly. "No one. She's no one. A servant in this house. And she should not be here. Girl, get back to your chores." She waved her hand dismissively at Cinderella.

"I believe the decree was for _all_ the girls in the kingdom to try on the slipper," said the Prince. He held out his hand and the slipper was brought forth. He knelt in front of Cinderella. "My lady, if you please."

Cinderella lifted her foot and he placed the glass slipper on. It was a perfect fit. He smiled up at her and stood quickly, pulling her into a passionate kiss. The audience applauded.

Roman picked Rachel up and spun her around. She laughed with glee. He set her down and kissed her again, their first real kiss. They hadn't rehearsed that part, but that was just fine with her. Because this one was real.

* * *

Rachel and Roman laughed as Rachel drove.

"I don't think I've ever moved so fast." After the final curtain close, Rachel had had to change back into her ball gown for when the whole cast came out on stage for their final bows.

"You should have seen your face when they put that glitter powder back on you," Roman added.

"I know," she guffawed. "I needed to sneeze the whole time we were all bowing."

They talked and laughed for a while longer, then Rachel pulled up at her destination. She stopped the car and turned off the ignition. The Neibolt house loomed to their right.

"And what are we doing here?" Roman asked.

Rachel raised her eyebrows at him and reached over to open the glove box. She pulled out a flashlight. "You'll see."

"You do know it's dark, right?"

She waggled the flashlight at him. "That's why I have this." She opened the door. "Come on."

She met Roman on the other side of the car and they stood there looking at the house.

"So after finally getting what you want the most, you're going to break into the Neibolt house?"

Rachel grabbed his hand and started pulling him. "Last time I checked, this was your idea. And we're not even going inside."

"From princess to rebel in one night." Roman chuckled. "I think I'm starting to rub off on you."

They slowly picked their way through the long grass behind the house. They reached a spot where the grass was surprisingly short.

"Here. Let's stop right here," Rachel said. She turned off the flashlight. The full moonlight shown down around them. Under any other circumstances Rachel would have been petrified, but with Roman with her, she felt strong and wild.

"Look at that," she said as she stared up at the sky.

Roman walked up close behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It is beautiful," he said. He bent down and put his face close to hers. "I've seen more beautiful though," he whispered as he nuzzled her ear.

Rachel turned to face him.

"You have no idea how special you are to me. How important."

"I feel the same," she replied.

He stared at her intently. "You do?"

She nodded. "I know I barely know you, but I feel like I'm... connected to you. I just feel so comfortable with you, like I can really talk to you. Like I can do anything with you." She reached out and touched his arm. "I don't want to be without you anymore."

He reached out and touched her jaw, his eyes now locked on hers. "Do you mean that?"

Her eyes met his, and at that moment she knew she meant it, more than anything.

"Yes."

He started rubbing her shoulders. "From the moment I met you, I felt drawn to you. It's like I knew you were different. The things you draw, the things you're into. It's like you believe in another world, in another life." He leaned down until his face was inches from her. "Like you believe in me."

"I do believe in you, Pennywise," she breathed.

His beautiful lips curved upwards. "See, even that. I look completely human right now, and you still see me." He caressed her face. "So amazing. So fucking mesmerizing."

His lips crashed into hers. Rachel opened her mouth eagerly, and his tongue joined with hers. He ran his hands all over her back as she ran hers through his hair and over his shoulders. She clutched at his shirt, desperate to get closer to him.

Roman ran his hands down her thighs and started pulling her dress up over them. Rachel moaned when he pressed himself against her lace panties. He bunched up her dress in one hand while he grabbed her ass and squeezed it.

He stopped kissing her. "You are so amazing, kitten. Tell me what you want. Tell me what to do to please you."

Rachel placed her hands on his chest. She had been wanting this for some time now. And right here, in this spot, in this moment, she was ready.

"I want to be with you."

He licked his lips. "Are you sure? Is that really what you want?"

"Yes."

He started lifting her dress. Rachel raised her arms so he could pull it off of her. He tossed it on the ground. The warm night breeze caressed her skin as she stood in her lacy bra and panties. Desire started to pool in her middle as Roman's hungry eyes roamed her body.

He put his hands on her shoulders. "I want you to tell me if I do anything that you're not comfortable with."

She swallowed and nodded.

He stepped up to her until he was flush up against her. Feeling his shirt against her only fueled her arousal. Reaching behind her, Roman unclasped her bra. He stepped back and reached up, pulling the straps down. He threw her bra down with her dress. He reached out and grabbed one of her nipples between two fingers, pulling at it gently.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Rachel. Nothing."

Rachel reached out and started unbuttoning his shirt. "Then you can take this off and make love to me under the moonlight."

His signature Pennywise grin returned. "That's my girl."

Roman quickly finished taking off his shirt while Rachel took her panties off. She lay down in the grass and he finished removing his clothes. Rachel wiggled around to get comfortable, but the dry grass seemed to stick her everywhere. Finally she settled down. Roman hovered over her and lowered himself to where their chests were touching, skin to skin.

"I know you can't be too comfortable, kitten," he said softly.

She smiled at him. The blue and silver glitter around her eyes sparkled like star dust in the moonlight. "I want to feel everything."

He shook his head slowly. "If you could see yourself. You are no princess this night. You are a queen. A goddess. Like something from another world."

Rachel held her breath as he entered her. Flesh slid against flesh, inside and out, as he pushed his way inside her, filling her.

He cupped his hand over her cheek. "My goddess," he breathed. His lips met hers in a soft, sensual kiss. He started moving. He removed his mouth from hers and placed his hand beside her head to brace himself as he rocked against her.

Rachel closed her eyes and sighed. The dry grass scratched her back as she was pushed back and forth against it. She didn't mind. Tonight was all about sensation. And with the full moon and starlight above her, and the warm breeze tickling her skin, she closed her eyes and let herself get lost.

And they made love.


	12. Chapter 12

_*****This chapter contains foul language and sex, including oral sex.*****_

Rachel moaned and rolled over on her side. She tried to curl up in a ball, but her knee hit something firm. In fact, the whole surface she was laying on was firm and lumpy. She drug her arm across the surface and found that it started to curve instead of lay flat. Something was definitely wrong. She groggily opened her eyes and came face to face with an orange pompom. She glanced down. She didn't remember having a body pillow, but apparently she had acquired one last night. And somehow her little blue dress had gotten back on her. She realized she was in the Neibolt house. And she wasn't exactly laying on a bed.

Rachel smiled and ran her hand up Pennywise's chest as she nuzzled against him. "This is a nice surprise. I haven't seen you in a couple of days."

She could almost hear him smile as his breath tickled the top of her head. "I did not hear my kitten complaining."

Her smile widened. "Hmm not at all." She snaked her arm around his waist. "But I did miss you though. Even though you were still at the play, I still wish I could have seen you there. The Pennywise you." She reached out and touched his bottom lip.

Pennywise grinned. "Then you can have me all day today, my swee-t." He closed his lips around her finger and started sucking on it.

Rachel licked her bottom lip as she instantly started to get turned on. Pennywise's golden eyes met hers. He released her finger then gave it a lick. In a flash, she was scrambling up his chest. She smashed her lips against his and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as possible. They started making out. Pennywise ran his hands down her back until he got to her bottom. He grabbed her ass and squeezed it hard. Rachel moaned against his mouth and pressed her pelvis against his. He was hard for her.

He pulled his mouth away from hers. They were both breathing hard. "So eager to get started, my dear."

"Yes." She bent forward to kiss him again and gasped when her head wouldn't go any farther. Pennyise had grabbed a fistful of her hair.

His grin could not have been more devious. "Such a good girl. So eager to receive pleasure from your daddy."

Her heart was pounding. "I do want to receive pleasure from you. And I want to give it to you as well. Last night was…amazing. It was so beautiful. But I want to be with you too. The real you."

He brought his face to where it was inches from hers. "Then I shall give my princess what she wants."

Pennywise started to turn over, bringing Rachel with him. There was a mattress underneath him. Rachel hadn't even noticed. Surprisingly it was still in decent condition and she couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't brought it over there for her.

She lay on her back and once again Pennywise got on top of her. He ran his nose up between her breasts. He brought a hand down to rub her mound. Rachel moaned when she felt his fingers slide right into her folds through her dress. And then it hit her. She wasn't wearing any panties. Apparently when Pennywise had dressed her, he had thought she didn't need them. He kept rubbing her. She started moving her pelvis against his hand.

"Please," she whispered.

His face was back in hers. "Patience, kit-ten. Since you were such a good princess last night, daddy has a treat for you."

He removed his hand, brought it up to his mouth, and removed the glove with his teeth. He tossed it aside. He brought his hand back down and hiked up her dress.

When she felt his bare fingers slide along her mound, she moaned. "Ohhh, Penny. Yes." She let her head fall back.

"Such a good girl," Pennywise crooned as she writhed against his hand. "Do you want your treat now?"

"Yes," she moaned.

"Do you want it?"

"Yes, baby. I want it."

He kept rubbing her as he started to move down. What Rachel didn't see was that as he did so, his arm started to twist.

"Oh, Penny," she said again. She felt his hand leave and was about to protest when she felt his mouth on her. She gasped, over and over as he went down on her. "Ohh fuck!" Her hands reached out and she grabbed his hair. She pushed herself as far up against his mouth as she could go. He ate her out some more. Then his tongue shot out and she threw her head back as it slid into her core.

Rachel was shaking now, her body a writhing mess. When her climax hit, her back arched. She let go of his hair and tried to grab at the bedspread that wasn't there. She screamed over and over as her sweet cream coated Pennywise's tongue.

When her orgasm had passed, Rachel fell limply back onto the bed, utterly spent. Pennywise pulled his tongue out.

"Such a good, sweet kitten," he crooned as he rubbed her abdomen. "Next time daddy will be inside you."

Rachel smiled at his words and closed her eyes.

His eyes lit up with a demonic glow. "Next time, I make you my mate."

* * *

After Pennywise had tongue fucked her into oblivion, they had snuggled together for a bit on the mattress. Then Rachel had told him that she had promised her mom after the play that she would meet her and her step dad for brunch the next day. Surprisingly, Pennywise let her go, and he ended up leaving Rachel alone for the rest of the day to spend with her family.

Now it was Monday. Rachel's Cinderella days were officially over, which she felt kind of sad about. But for once she had something to feel excited about. She thought about Pennywise and his sweet, goofy smile. He was so gentle and caring, yet super protective. And then there was Roman, who had a romantic, old fashioned, yet daring charm about him. Same person. And they were both hers. Her stomach flip-flopped.

"And what are you so happy about?" Mrs. Stout asked.

Rachel blushed. Apparently she had been staring into space, grinning like an idiot. She shrugged, but her grin still remained.

"Nothing."

"It wouldn't be that boy that was in here the other day, would it?"

Rachel started twirling the braid that was hanging over her shoulder. "Yeah. I guess."

"Sweetheart, just because I'm old and divorced, doesn't mean I don't know first love when I see it."

Rachel felt her heart swell at the head librarian's words. Could she really be in love with Pennywise?

Later that morning, Rachel was shelving. She had her back turned. Suddenly she felt something touch her neck and she jumped, startled. She whirled around. Roman stood behind her, laughing softly.

"You!" She playfully slapped him. "You scared the hell out of me."

Roman touched her temple. He was still laughing. "I'm so sorry, sweetie."

Rachel shook her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. I missed you."

She gave him a look. "You just saw me yesterday morning."

"I know. But still." He leaned forward and gave Rachel a peck on the lips. "So I was thinking…"

"You better be careful. I hear that's dangerous."

Roman smirked at her. "Cute. So I was wondering, why don't you go home after work, put on your bathing suit, and come meet me at the cliffs."

Rachel raised her eyebrows at him. "The cliffs?"

"Sure. We can get nice and wet. Splash around a bit. It'll be fun."

"You do know there's only one way down there, right?"

He grabbed her braid and started playing with it. "This coming from the same girl who brought me behind the Neibolt house, of all places, to seduce me."

Rachel laughed. "Seduce you? Last I remember, you kissed me first."

He folded in his lips, a thoughtful look on his face. "True. So will you come with me?"

Rachel shifted the pile of books in her arms. "I would do anything with you."

He winked at her. "Good. See you this afternoon, princess."

Rachel's heart lept. After she was sure Roman had left out of sight, she did a little dance of joy.

* * *

"We have to warn Rachel about Roman," said Bill.

"Fuck yeah we have to warn her," said Eddie. "I mean, did you see his shadow? Talk about a fucking creepfest."

"I wonder why she couldn't see it," said Ben.

"Probably for the same reason none of the other adults can," Mike added.

The Losers' Club sat at a picnic table at the park, discussing on whether or not they should warn Bill's cousin about their suspicions about her new beau.

"Poor Rachel. She seemed so nice the other night. I wonder if she knows," said Beverly, her

pretty face in a pout.

"I hope not. I mean, what if she's boning him?" said Richie.

Bill punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Richie! That's my c-cousin you're talking about."

Richie put his hands up. "Just saying."

"So what are we going to do?" Stan asked.

"We go to the l-library," said Bill. "Pennywise won't be l-lurking around over there. And we can tell her what we saw at the p-play."

"But what if she doesn't believe us?" Ben asked. "What if she thinks we're crazy?"

"Better for her if she thinks we are," Bev admitted.

* * *

Rachel was at the circulation desk that afternoon. A group of kids walked in the door. She did a double take. It was Bill and his friends, his usual ones plus the two kids she had met Saturday night at the play, Ben and Beverly. There was also a dark skinned kid with them that she hadn't seen before. She gave them a suspicious look as they hastened towards her.

"Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Rachel, we need to talk to you," said Bill.

She glanced around, but didn't see Mrs. Stout anywhere. Rachel figured whatever it was must be important for their whole gang to show up like that. Especially Richie. He avoided the library

like the plague.

"Let's go find a back table," she said.

"And why didn't you come to my play, Eddie?" Rachel asked him in a mockingly accusing voice as she brought them to a nice quiet spot. Luckily the day had been slow.

"Really? You know how my mother is. All those people all close to each other."

Rachel tried not to roll her eyes. "True." Mrs, Kaspbrak was one of the main reasons why her son was so paranoid of everything. She was surprised Eddie's mom had even let him go to school. Rachel waited until the kids had made themselves comfortable. "Okay. Talk."

Ten minutes later, she was numbly listening to what they had come to tell her. "So you're saying that Pennywise is real and that he's been doing things to scare you."

"Yeah, like bad stuff. Really h-horrific things. It's like he knows what we're s-scared of."

Rachel sighed. A cold feeling had seeped into her chest. "And you're saying that Roman is Pennywise."

"See. I told you she'd believe us. She's known us long enough to know bullshit when she sees it," said Richie.

Rachel thought carefully. There was no way she could tell them that she already knew about Roman. Or the extent of how deep her relationship was with Pennywise. One thing was for sure. She was going to have to have a good talk with her clown lover.

Apparently Stan had noticed the strained look on Rachel's face. He gestured at her. "You see, guys. We've totally freaked her out. I mean, what if we're wrong about Roman. What if it was just a trick of the lights making his shadow look like that?"

Richie clapped his hand on Stan's shoulder. "And did you see Rachel's shadow looking like it was about five feet taller than her?"

Stan gave him a sheepish look.

"It's alright, Stan. I'm having a hard time believing all this too. But none of you have any reason to lie to me." Rachel stood up and pushed her chair back in. "Look, I need to get back to work. Thank you guys _so_ much for telling me all this. I promise I will be really careful and keep my eyes open."

"P-please be careful, Rachel," said Bill.

The look of desperation on his face broke her heart. "I will," she told him even though she knew it was a lie. She had thrown careful out the window weeks ago.

* * *

"Roman!"

Rachel was almost to the edge of the cliffs. Roman was nowhere to be found. Rachel was supposed to meet him there. She put her hands on her hips and called him again. She found a large rock to sit on. She started thinking about everything that Bill and his friends had told her. After they had left, her spirits had been down. She was still upset that Pennywise had been targeting the kids like that. She heard a rustling sound behind her. She turned and saw Roman saunter out of the trees.

Rachel put a smile back on her face and stood. "Hey."

"Hey, beautiful."

Roman came up to her and pulled her into a hug. Rachel put her head against his chest and sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just... rough day." She pulled away from him.

He reached out to twirl a strand of her hair. "You mean after I left?"

She nodded.

"Well I am here now. And we are going to have some fun."

Rachel smiled, a genuine smile this time.

Roman took off his shirt. "So what do you say? Ready for a swim?"

A few minutes later, they were standing at the edge of the cliffs, Rachel in her bikini and him in his swim trunks.

"I cannot believe we are about to do this," she said.

"Relax. This will be a piece of cotton candy."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at him. "Cotton candy?"

He shrugged. "Or cake. Whichever you prefer." He grabbed her hand. "Ready?"

"No," she squeaked.

"Well then we're jumping anyway. One, two, three."

They jumped. Rachel felt like a bullet as she plummeted, the water rushing up towards her. It stung when she hit. She went under. She could hear the water rushing in her ears, filling her nose. She broke the surface and instantly started sputtering. Roman had just popped up next to her.

"Whoo!" he hollered. "We did it."

"Yeah!" Rachel called out.

He floated towards her. "You did it, Rachel. I'm proud of you."

She felt herself grinning from ear to ear. Her heart pounded from the adrenaline rush.

"That's my girl."

Roman leaned in to kiss her, but she splashed him. His face took on a surprised expression. He splashed her back. Rachel splashed him again and yelped when he rushed at her and threw his arms around her. She tried to bite his arm and laughed because she knew she couldn't reach.

"Oh no you don't, "Roman said.

Before Rachel knew it, they were wrestling and throwing water at each other. She started coughing when some flew in her mouth.

Roman started hitting her on the back. "You alright?"

She nodded.

"Next time, don't start something you can't finish."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, dear."

She was kind of tired after their aquatic frolic, so Roman suggested that they swim over to the shallows. It was nice having her feet touch bottom. Rachel laid on her back to show Roman how she could float.

"You do that pretty well," he said. Of course his words sounded muffled. Rachel stared at the blue sky above her. It was so peaceful out here, just her and Roman. But there were things she needed to ask him, and now was as good a time as any. Rachel placed herself upright. Water ran down her body in rivulets.

"Why have you never been with me as Pennywise?"

Roman looked at her sideways, a lazy smile on his face. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, I was just thinking..."

"That's dangerous, you know."

Rachel stuck her tongue out at him. "I was thinking, Pennywise has pleasured me three times now, but he's still never made love to me. You have."

"Rachel, when I'm Pennywise..." he sighed, an uneasy, almost sad look came across his handsome face. "I have to be so careful when I'm with you. I'm a lot bigger; I'm stronger. Look, you've seen me kill someone. And you know I would never do anything like that to you, right?"

"Right," Rachel replied without any doubt in her mind.

"I'm not a flowers and sunshine kind of person, Rachel. I'm sure you've at least figured that part out."

Rachel sighed. _No, you're the kind of person who goes around scaring the daylights out of innocent kids,_ she thought.

She placed her hands on his chest. "Penny, I need to ask you something. I've heard things about you. Things that kind of…worry me."

She could feel his chest muscles tense up under her hands. "Alright."

"I've heard you've been going around scaring some of the kids in town. Is that true?"

He heaved a sigh and Rachel could feel him relax again.

"Intense emotions get me… over excited. That's one of the reasons why I love pleasing you so much. When I feel you start writhing underneath me, knowing that it's from pleasure that I'm giving you…" He exhaled loudly and shook his head. "Rachel, you don't know what that does to me. That's why I'm so scared to be with you as Pennywise. You don't know what kind of damage I could do if I let myself get too carried away."

Rachel saw in her head the first night that he had come in her room. Was that why he had really ripped her shirt? Because he had been so over-excited by her desire?

She ran her hands up Roman's chest and over his shoulders. She really didn't want to break up with him over something like this. And that's exactly what she would be doing. Even though they hadn't actually made anything official yet, she considered Pennywise her boyfriend.

"Can I ask you to do something, please?"

He rubbed her shoulder. "Anything."

"Please stop scaring the kids."

He smiled. And with the bits of sunlight reflecting off the water on his skin, Rachel could truly understand how he could be from another world. "You got it."

He started kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She could feel his hands on her waist. As the kiss deepened, he started dragging his hands downwards. She felt him start to pull down her bikini bottom. She started throbbing. He slid his hand down the front of her bikini and found her nub. He started rubbing. Rachel took a deep breath. She didn't know what it was about water, but for some reason it heightened the sensation of his hand against her already sensitive flesh. Her legs grew weak.

Roman pulled his mouth away from hers and let out a dark chuckle. "Does that mean we're done swimming?"

"What do you think?"

She smashed her lips against his, but he pulled back. "Why don't we go back to shore? It'll be easier."

"I don't care where we do it at. So long as you make love to me."

Roman pulled her full force against him. He kissed her so hard, it literally took her breath away. He broke the kiss and grabbed her arm. "Come on."

They splashed through the water. Their feet were already touching bottom, so it didn't take long for them to reach land. Rachel's legs felt wobbly as she stepped on shore. Roman pulled her over to where the dirt met grass. His green eyes were filled with desire as he crouched down, pulling down her bikini bottom as he went. Rachel stepped out of it and he put it aside.

In one swift move, his mouth was on her. Rachel's mouth fell open in a silent moan and her legs turned to jelly. She put her hands on his shoulders as his tongue swirled around and around your nub. You wanted him so badly. She spread her legs wider to give him easier access. As a second thought, she reached behind her and took off her bikini top.

He started sucking on her nub. Rachel dug her nails into his shoulders and let out a gasp that was more like a squeak. She closed her eyes as she let the delectable sensation of his tongue take over her. She let her head fall back. When she opened her eyes, the blue sky was above her. She felt wild, untamed. Like an Amazon warrior goddess from the days of Greek mythology.

She climaxed with much less force than usual, and lasted much longer. Roman grasped her thighs to support her as she moaned softly.

Her legs shook badly. Roman laid her down on the grass. He took off his swim trunks. He didn't waste any time. In two quick thrusts, he was inside her. He started moving with a velocity that both shocked and excited Rachel at the same time. The sounds of their love making could be heard clearly in the still air. Rachel was starting to set up for her second orgasm when Roman's voice broke through the moment.

"Oh. Rachel. I can't... I can't hold it."

"Let go, Penny. Let go," she told him.

Roman snarled. Rachel cried out as, with an inhuman strength, he flipped her over on all fours. He pushed himself back into her again.

"Why did you have to call me that?" His voice was a growl.

"Wha-" was all that Rachel could mutter.

Roman started to feel different, larger. Rachel bent forward and pulled ahold of the grass. Something was happening to Roman. Something was changing.

And she liked it.

Rachel could hear him making guttural grunting noises. But his voice sounded different, more high pitched. She felt a hand on her back. A gloved hand.

Pennywise.

She orgasmed. Hard. Pennywise was fucking her. She came over and over.

She started to sag as soon as she finished. Pennywise's hands shot out to grab her waist. He came shortly after.

Finally, he pulled out of her. He let go of her waist and she dropped like a sack of flour. Rachel was in the dirt, naked and covered in sweat. She had just had sex with technically not one, but two men.

Pennywise grabbed her by the waist and turned her over on her side. She rolled over the rest of the way, her torso resting against his legs as he knelt next to her. His gold eyes bore into hers and his full lips turned up into his usual impish grin.

"Did you enjoy that, my sweet?"

Rachel nodded, a weary but satisfied grin on her face. "I have never experienced anything like that."

Pennywise giggled. "Well you better get used to it, my dear. You are my mate now. We can do a lot of things like that."

Rachel glanced up at him, an odd feeling settling in her stomach that had nothing to do with sore muscles.

"Mate?"

Pennywise nodded his head eagerly, making the ruffle around his neck flounce. "Yes. You and I have mated. That means you are mine."

Rachel placed her hand on her temple, her heart pounding. She was his? What exactly did that mean? And why did she have a feeling there was no turning back from it?


	13. Chapter 13

"So, what goes with being your mate?"

Rachel and Pennywise were sitting by the creek. Rachel was between his legs with her chin resting on her arm, which was resting on his propped up leg. She yawned widely for about the hundredth time that day. Between the late June heat and her and Pennywise's wild bout of love making at the cliffs the day before, her body was crying for sleep.

"Well, it would not be much different from what you humans call dating," was his response.

"Sooo we just do fun stuff together and have sex?"

Pennywise reached out to stroke her hair. "If that is what my kitten wants."

Rachel sat up straight and turned her torso sideways. "I know what I want, but what else is there? There has to be more to it than that."

Pennywise leaned in towards her, a sadistic grin on his face. "Do you want more, my dear?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. Why did she feel like she was trying to negotiate with the devil all of a sudden? "I don't know yet and it would depend on what it is," she said carefully.

"You've seen some of the things that I can do. Do you want to be able to do that?"

Rachel's mouth started opening and closing like a fish. Things that he could do? Like, his special abilities?

She gestured at herself. " _I_ would be able to have powers?"

Pennywise giggled. "Of course. You are my mate. If you want to have some of my…gifts…" he leaned forward until his lips brushed her hair. "I can make it happen."

Rachel's heart was pounding, her sleepiness forgotten. She started wracking her brain, trying to think of all that Pennywise was capable of: shapeshifting, making people see things, teleporting, and perhaps mind reading, which she was not entirely sure of that one. And then an idea hit her. She felt all the blood rush to her head.

"I'm not going to become like…" she pointed at Pennywise. "whatever you are, right?"

"Oh no, not at all," Pennywise said quickly. "It would take a lot more for that. And I'm sure you're not quite ready to go that far."

Rachel let out a shaky breath. She didn't know if she wanted to go that far ever.

"Ok. This is an awful lot to process right now."

Pennywise started vigorously rubbing her back. "I know, kitten. We don't have to talk about it anymore. We can just relax."

Rachel leaned sideways and rested her head against his chest. "I just don't want to lose you. That's all I know. You mean so much to me."

Pennywise put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "You mean so much to me too."

* * *

 _Crunch! Crunch! Rustle!_

 _Crunch! Crunch!_

Rachel woke up on her couch. It was almost full dark outside. None of the lights were on in her house that she could see. Her stomach growled like she hadn't eaten all day long.

 _Crunch! Crunch!_

She sat up and almost felt kind of dizzy. Rachel hated when she napped for too long. She heard more crunching and rustling sounds coming from her kitchen. She got up to go investigate. When she got to the kitchen, she reached for the light switch, expecting to find a large rat.

It was a rat. One with buck teeth, red lips, and wild orange hair.

Rachel stared at her clown lover with a mix of shock and annoyance on her face.

"Pennywise, what are you doing?"

There was cereal everywhere. On the table. On the floor. Pennywise stood in the midst of it all. He was holding up his hand, picking individual pieces of cereal out if it and throwing them on the floor.

"What kind of cereal is this? It is nasty. How can you humans eat it?" He popped the rest of it in his mouth and started chewing.

Rachel put her hands on her hips. "That _was_ my Lucky Charms."

Pennywise started giggling. "Lucky Charms. Yummy marshmallows."

Rachel would have laughed if she didn't feel like pulling her hair out. For as large and intimidating as Pennywise was, he was like a kid sometimes. Her stomach rumbled again. It was time for a distraction.

"Hey Penny, let's go eat out."

"Eat out? Like we did last time?"

"Yeah. You can bring Roman out. And we can go eat. At the Rocket." Rachel tried to put as much pep in her voice as possible, hoping he would get the hint to get out of her poor kitchen.

Pennywise threw the handful of cereal that he had just grabbed behind his shoulder. Rachel grimaced. "Alright. I go with you to eat out. And then we come back and you let me eat you out."

"Okay, fine. Whatever." Rachel started massaging her forehead. She had told Pennywise two days ago what the other meaning of that phrase was. Now she was almost beginning to regret it. She told him to lock the door behind him and grabbed her keys to go wait for him in the car.

* * *

Rachel dunked a piece of pork roast into her mashed potatoes and shoved it in her mouth. Brown gravy dribbled down her chin.

"Umhmm."

Roman watched her with a bemused expression on his face. She grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her chin.

"You really are hungry, aren't you?" he asked.

Rachel nodded. "Umhumm," she said, her mouth full of food.

"You didn't eat today?"

Rachel chewed for a minute and swallowed before she answered. "I did. But I'm just so hungry. I don't know why." She dunked her roll in her potato gravy and took a big bite.

"Well you won't find me complaining. Nothing wrong with a big appetite."

Rachel got some potatoes on her fork. "And that's another thing. I never see you eat. The last time we came here, you didn't eat either," she pointed out. She shoved her fork back in her mouth.

"Well my tastes aren't exactly what you would call normal human food." Roman waved his hands about as he talked.

Rachel was about to take another bite, but her hand froze halfway to her mouth. "Oh? And uh…what do you eat?"

"Well I usually have a tendency to eat small…" Roman waved his hand about.

"Animals?" Rachel threw in quickly.

Roman chuckled silently. "You could say that."

"Oh." Rachel frowned and lowered her fork. She imagined Pennywise sinking his teeth into a poor rabbit. And then another thought hit her. Would she have to eat like that as well now that she was his mate?

Roman leaned over and placed his hand on the table in front of her. "You're not going to have to eat like that no."

Rachel gave him a wry smile. "Reading my mind?"

"I didn't have to. I know you."

"Can you read people's minds?" She pushed her mashed potatoes around with her fork, her appetite suddenly diminished.

"In a sense. As soon as I meet someone, I can tell what's utmost on their minds. And I at least know who they are as far as, like, their name."

"Did you know my name at first?"

Roman smiled at her. "Of course."

"And will I be able to… read minds as well?"

Roman furrowed his brow as though deep in thought. "I don't know what you'll be able to do, to be honest. Or how many more times we'll have to mate before your abilities would start to develop."

Rachel felt her stomach flip flop. A deep blush crept into her cheeks. She folded her hands in her lap. She and Pennywise really were together now. She remembered yesterday when they were next to the water, when she felt him changing inside her. She put her hands between her legs. She wanted to feel him inside her again so badly.

"You okay?" Roman asked, his voice full of concern. "Your face is bright red." He reached out to touch her cheek with the back of his hand. It felt cool against Rachel's burning flesh.

"I'm just tired," she told him.

It was only a half lie. True she hadn't felt as tired since she started eating, but she didn't want to tell him the real reason behind her sudden hormonal flare-up. And after the conversations the two of them had had today, as badly as she wanted to be with him again, she was almost reluctant to now. She had a feeling there were things that Pennywise wasn't telling her, but she wasn't about to press him. She was just going to have to trust him to tell her when he was ready, just like everything else that she had learned about him.

But was she ready for his truths to become hers as well?


	14. Chapter 14

Rachel was clearing out the book drop right before the library opened when she found a small, bulky, white envelope. And not the kind that letters were mailed in. It was thick and formal looking. And it had her name on it. She ran her finger over it and found that the lump was in a circular pattern. She opened it. Her mouth fell open when she pulled out a beautiful gold and silver intertwined bracelet. It was a made of some kind of stretchy, bouncy metal. There were two charms on it. A gold sun and a silver moon. A smile came to her face. She placed the bracelet down carefully on the desk and opened the envelope further. There was a note inside.

 _It looks like they joined after all. Meet me tonight at 29 Neibolt Street._

 _Wear your red dress._

… _Yes I know you have a red dress._

She pressed the note to her chest, right over her heart. He remembered her story about her sun and moon drawing. And her red dress? It was a short one that Rachel only wore on special occasions. She had never shown it to Pennywise, but of course he still knew about it. He had probably gone through her whole house by now when she wasn't aware of it. She put the bracelet on and tucked away the note. The bracelet was a perfect fit, like it was made for her.

Eight hours went by painstakingly slow. In her spare time between patrons, Rachel found herself daydreaming about what Roman—she was pretty sure it was Roman who had sent her the gift—could possibly have planned for her that would involve the Neibolt house and a nice dress.

After work she went home and prepped herself for her date. She curled her hair and put on her red sparkly spaghetti strap dress. The top of the dress was a normal red which got darker the farther down it got, leading to a deep wine red at the bottom. She put on her makeup, complete with red lipstick and three rhinestone stickies next to each eye. Lastly she put on her new bracelet and her dark red, strappy shoes. Thank goodness the heels weren't too high. Some of the floorboards in the Neibolt house were loose. The last thing she needed was to trip and break her ankle. Not that she would have minded Pennywise having to carry her around for a while.

Rachel checked herself out in her full length bedroom mirror. She looked regal. A princess going to meet her prince.

She got in her car and drove off. She pulled up at the Neibolt house. And then it hit her. She had never been inside at night. The house didn't have any working electricity that Rachel knew of. Now she was really confused of as to what Roman was planning. She locked her car and carefully made her way to the front door. She hadn't tripped yet. So far, so good. Rachel opened the front door. Sure enough, the house was pitch dark.

"Roman," she called.

She opened the door farther and gasped at what she saw before her. There were two lines of candles forming a pathway along the floor. They were the only light in the house that she could see. The path disappeared to the right behind a wall. She smiled. It was like something out of a fairy tale.

Rachel followed the trail, her heels clicking on the wood floor. She turned the corner and went into the next room. It was a large room that she hadn't seen before. Roman was standing in the middle of it with his back to her. He turned. Her heart almost stopped. He was wearing a black suit with a shiny black shirt and red tie.

Rachel approached him slowly. "I see we both got the red memo."

Roman's eyes roamed her body. Her dress sparkled in the candlelight.

"Rachel, I swear on all that I am… I never knew true beauty until I met you."

Rachel felt like the world had stood still. Never in her life had someone spoken such words to her. She felt like she was suspended in space, surrounded by light, a path of light that had led her to him. And she knew at that moment, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she had fallen in love.

Rachel was in love with Roman.

"I feel like we're the only two people in the world right now," she told him. "Just me and you in this house."

Roman smiled. "Wouldn't be such a bad thing. Well…except the fact that you would have to lose everyone you love."

Rachel tilted her head sideways. "You don't have anyone that you love? No family or friends?"

"Love is a very... unattainable concept to me. I've never had want or need of it. Until now."

Rachel forgot how to breathe all of a sudden. She felt like all the air had left her lungs. Her legs were wobbly as she closed the distance between them.

"Roman, what are you saying?" she asked in a shaky voice.

He didn't answer her. Instead he lifted her wrist, the one that held her charm bracelet.

"I gave you this as a symbol. You said the sun and moon could never be together. But they are. We are, Rachel. I don't want to be without you. I don't want you to ever doubt that I'll ever be around. That I'll never take care of you. Of your needs and desires. Of your dreams."

Roman grabbed her hand and held it against his chest. Rachel felt tears pooling in her eyes.

"I love you, Rachel."

She let out a shaky breath and brought her other hand up to cover her mouth. The tears started to fall. Rachel didn't say anything as his words rang in her ears like a crystal clear bell.

He loved her. She wiped at her cheeks, suddenly glad she was wearing waterproof mascara.

"Kitten, say something," he said gently.

So she said the only thing she could say. The only truth she knew anymore.

"I love you too."

Roman's face split into a huge grin and he laughed. Rachel started laughing also as he grabbed her and threw his arms around her tightly. She embraced him back just as strongly. They broke apart and he bent down to kiss her passionately. Rachel returned his kiss with fervor. When they broke apart she instantly started laughing.

"What?" Roman asked, totally perplexed.

Rachel laughed harder.

"What's so funny?"

She pointed at her mouth. "You have…lipstick on you."

Roman started chuckling. "Oh? And this is something new?" He licked the smeared lipstick off his lips and smacked.

Rachel wiped away another tear, this one from laughter. "No. It's just, you're the one who usually gets red on me."

Roman watched her as her giddy, in love moment subsided. "You're amazing."

"Me?" Rachel was in shock. "I'm just a normal human girl."

He reached out and clasped both of her arms. "You are so much more than that, my darling. One day I will make you see that."

Rachel let out a content sigh. "So what are we here for?"

"Oh. Of course. Step back a minute."

Rachel stepped away from him. Roman knelt. There was a trap door in the floor. Rachel hadn't noticed it before. Roman grabbed the handle and pulled. The door opened with a rusty squeak.

Her mouth opened in awe, Rachel leaned over. Wrought iron spiraled stairs led downward. A soft light illuminated the stairs. She couldn't tell what it was coming from.

"What is that?"

"That is the last of my abilities that I have not shown you."

Roman glanced up at her. His eyes glowed yellow in the candlelight and for a moment Rachel remembered who she was really with.

"Is there a room down there?" she asked.

"Yes. It's what's in that room that I want to show you."

"Roman, I don't know." Rachel chewed on her bottom lip. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she just didn't want to go and get stuck somewhere underground with no other exit.

"Look, we don't have to go if you don't want. I'd completely understand."

Rachel sighed. Of course she didn't want to upset her boyfriend. "Um…" was all she could say. She mentally tried to calculate how she was going to climb down in her heels.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you sure this is safe?"

Roman chuckled. "Darling, I've been down there. Trust me, it's safe."

"I know, but it's just so…" Rachel made a downward swooshing motion, "down there."

"I won't let anything happen to you, kitten. I promise."

Rachel took a deep breath and bent to take off her shoes. The last thing she needed was to fall down and die of a broken neck after the man she loved just admitted that he loved her back.

"I'll go first." Roman stood and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, then started descending.

Rachel waited until he was down low enough, then started climbing down. It was a slow process. She kept one hand on the wall as she went to steady herself. The walls were made of stone and for some strange reason, she felt like she was climbing down a well. After a while, her muscles started to tense. She swallowed and let out an uneasy breath as claustrophobia started to set in.

"How much farther?" she asked.

"Not much. You doing alright?"

"Peachy."

Rachel breathed the sigh of relief when they reached the bottom. Roman grabbed her hand. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Beam me up, Scotty."

Roman chuckled. He led her down a short tunnel. When they got to the end of it, Rachel froze. Her mouth fell open in complete shock.

They were in a large ballroom. The floors were shiny wood. Large, gilded mirrors hung along the left wall. Bright lights hung on the wall in between each of them. But it was what was in the room that shocked Rachel even more. Straight ahead, on the other side of the room, sat a full-sized carousel. She could faintly hear circus music coming from it. To the right of it, closer to them, was a tall slide. The surface of the slide itself gleamed like it was freshly polished.

Rachel slowly stepped into the room, glancing around her as she went. She glanced up at the ceiling. Chandeliers hung interspersed, and the ceiling itself was polished with a golden finish. She could see a distorted reflection of herself and Roman in it.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto," Rachel muttered to herself.

"Do you like it?" Roman asked.

"It's a ballroom… with a carousel… and a slide… under the Neibolt house."

"I know. I had to touch some things up a bit, and I added the rides, but… do you like it?" Roman was watching her, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth.

"Like is not the question.'' Rachel held up one finger. "How in the hell did you…" She swept her finger in a circle. "I don't…" She turned to him and slowly shook her head.

Roman quickly walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I know this is the wildest and most…unbelievable thing that you've seen me do, but I need you to trust me. I went through a lot to put this together for you. I still am going through a lot. Being Roman doesn't take a lot of energy, but this…" He gestured at the room and sighed. "I can understand if you would want to leave. But I'd be disappointed if you did."

Rachel hung her head, ashamed at herself for letting Roman think she didn't trust him. "I'm sorry, baby. I love it. It just…" she shrugged. "It threw me off."

"I know. I know." Roman pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

She pulled away from him. "Hey, I'm not that thrown off."

"So do you want to ride?"

Rachel's eyes grew wide. "Huh?"

He gestured sideways with his head. "The carousel."

"Oh…sure."

They started making their way in that direction.

"What did you think I meant?" Roman asked.

Rachel's face got beet red and she glanced away quickly. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

Rachel could tell by the bemused look on his face that he didn't believe her. She rolled her eyes. "Let's just go. I'll race you."

They took off running. Roman easily passed her up.

"No fair. You're taller," Rachel yelled as they reached the carousel. She clambered up on a white horse right away. "I haven't been on one of these in years."

Roman climbed up as well. He slapped Rachel's horse on the rump. "Then enjoy, my love. You deserve it."

He climbed on the one next to hers. A tiger. The carousel started moving. Rachel felt like she was a kid again. They rode for a while then Rachel decided she wanted to try the slide. It was taller than it had appeared at first glance. Roman watched her as she came down, her arms up in the air.

"Was that fun, kitten?"

Rachel stood. "Yes it was."

She strode up to him and put her arms out. Roman bent down and she laced her arms behind his neck. He put his around her waist.

"Thank you so much for this. I don't know how you were able to do it, but just...thank you."

"Rachel, there is nothing that I wouldn't do for you."

He kissed her deeply. "So, what do you want to do next?"

"Well..." she glanced around, the wheels in her head turning. "This is a ballroom."

Roman grinned slyly. "So you've noticed that?"

"I did," she said in a high pitched voice. "And you know what ballrooms are good for." Rachel stepped out of his embrace and twirled. Her dress flew out around her.

"Well if you're going to a ball, then you need the proper dress." Roman put his hand on her hip. "Turn again," he whispered.

Rachel started twirling again. As she did she could feel her dress growing longer, fuller. She stopped and glanced down at herself.

She was wearing a full, red satin ball gown. A white, scroll pattern ran along the breasts of the gown and down the very center of the strapless, heart shaped bodice. Rachel ran her hands down her sides. She grabbed the skirt and pulled it outwards.

"Roman," she breathed. "This is-"

"A gown fit for a princess?"

"This is beyond amazing. And so very beautiful."

Roman sautered up to her. He put his hands on your waist. "You're my queen, Rachel. My mate. Everything that is within my power to give you is yours."

She grabbed one of his hands off her waist and put her other hand on his shoulder. "Then…my king, may I have this dance?"

"Yes, you may."

There was no music playing besides the faint music coming from the carousel. But that was fine with Rachel. Roman twirled her around on the ballroom floor. At one point she glanced in one of the mirrors and did a double-take when she saw Roman's reflection. It was Pennywise.

Roman notice and squeezed her hand. "Now you can dance with both of us."

Rachel's grin was as wide as the moon. "And I don't have to worry about the clock striking midnight either."

Roman laughed, a deep, hearty laugh. "No you don't, Cinderella. No you don't."

* * *

Rachel could tell Roman was tired when he changed her dress back so that she could climb back up more easily. By the time they got back to the top, Rachel was more than ready to lay down and go to sleep, but first she had to tell Roman something that had been in the back of her mind for a while now.

"What is it?" He could always tell when something was bothering her.

"Roman, I want to go see Chris."

He pursed his lips. "Alright."

"I just…I still feel so bad for him. I don't regret a minute of having you by my side for the play, but I still can't help but feel like he was cheated. I feel like I have to at least go and check up on him.

Rachel could see a muscle move in Roman's jaw. "If you want to go, I'm not gonna stop you. You have every right to talk to who you want to."

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. She'd had no idea if Roman was going to get jealous or not and was relieved that he wasn't, or at least he didn't express otherwise.

She grabbed Roman's hand and held it. "Thank you, baby."

He brought her hand up and kissed it. "You know you're precious to me."

He led her to a room that she had been in before. Only this time, it looked totally different. It was the same mattress where Pennywise had tongue fucked her on. But this time there were white sheets on it and two white pillows. Several candles burned around it.

"Baby, this is amazing. You think of me so much."

Rachel turned to face Roman. His face looked pale in the candlelight and his eyes were droopy. She reached up to touch his face. "You tired, baby?"

"Very."

"Then let's go lay down."

Rachel went to lay on the mattress, but Roman grabbed her arm. She turned back to him.

"I won't be seeing you for the next few days," he said.

Her face fell. "What? Why?"

"I need to...recharge. I've done a lot lately. More than I'm used to."

Rachel sighed loudly. "And it's all my fault."

He shook his head. "No. No, it's not. I don't regret anything I've done for you." He reached up to touch her face. "But I can only do so much."

Rachel went for the mattress again, and again he stopped her. Roman lowered his head and kissed her gently.

"I don't even know why I'm staying tonight. My car is outside. People will talk," Rachel said.

"People pass, my love. You and I are forever."

That was all she needed to hear. Rachel pressed her lips to Roman's in a heated kiss. He returned it eagerly. She felt him lift the hem of her dress and slide it up her body. She raised her arms and he removed the garment. She started working on Roman's tie, but he grabbed her hands to stop her.

Roman bent down and slowly removed her panties. He placed one of his hands on each of her thighs and stared rubbing them. Then he put his mouth on her nub and started gently lapping at her. She almost melted in a pool of desire. But before he could get going, she stopped him. Roman abruptly stood. As soon as he was up, Rachel started pulling at his tie like a mad woman.

"You'd better get these clothes off, Roman. Because if I'm not gonna see you in a few days, you're gonna fuck me." She ripped off his tie and threw it on the ground. "Right now."

Roman's eyes flashed yellow. An inhuman growl escaped his throat. "Fuck. Yes."

His lips crashed into hers. She pulled him down on top of her. His suit jacket came off. Buttons went flying as his shirt came off. Rachel didn't know how he managed to get his pants off just as fast, but he did.

When he slid into her, she almost cried in relief. Roman started bucking against her, pushing himself farther in until he slammed into her g-spot. Rachel cried out. He fucked her relentlessly. But it wasn't like she didn't ask for it. After her wild bout of lust wore off, she asked him to slow down. He obliged her. He rode her more slowly, and when her orgasm came, it was like calm, yet forcefully waves washing against the shore.

When they were both done, he cradled her in his arms.

"This is the best night of my life," Rachel said.

Roman kissed her temple. "Good, kitten. I want us to have many more like this."

"I love you, Roman."

"I love you. Now go to sleep. And dream of me."

Rachel closed her eyes and snuggled against him, a smile on her face, and fell into a content sleep.

* * *

Chris Sheffield sat up in bed and rubbed his neck. It had been a week since his car accident, but his neck and shoulder still acted up. He went downstairs to get his bottle of pain pills. He got them out the cabinet and popped one in his mouth. He then grabbed a glass of water to wash it down with. Chris turned around to go put the pills back where he got them and screamed. The bottle of pills clattered to the floor.

A massive clown loomed before him. The same clown that had been haunting Chris's nightmares for the past week. A demented grin adorned his cracked, white face.

The clown lunged.


	15. Chapter 15

****this chapter rated for foul language and sex****

"Rachel!" "Rachel!"

Rachel's eyes popped open. She was still laying on the mattress in the Neibolt house. The candles from the night before were gone. Of course they were.

"Rachel!"

She sat up quickly. Someone was in the house with her. Two someones from the way it sounded. She jumped out of bed and went closed the door without shutting it. The last thing she needed was for any kids to walk in and see her naked. Especially if it was Bill, which one of them sounded suspiciously like. She dressed quickly, suddenly glad that all she had to put on were her panties and dress. She opened the door.

"Bill?" she called.

Two boys came into view. Sure enough, one of them was Bill, the other Richie.

Bill looked at Rachel questioningly. "Rachel?"

"Yeah. I think it's me," she said sarcastically.

"What are you doing in the N-Neibolt house?" Bill asked. Rachel could hear an edge of panic in his voice.

"And what the fuck are you wearing?" Richie asked.

She glanced down at herself and realized how odd her appearance must have seemed to the two boys. She quickly patted her messy hair.

"I uh… me and Roman went out last night and… what are you two doing here?"

"We saw your c-car out front," said Bill.

 _Fuck!_ she thought. _Of all the people to find my fucking car._

"Me and Roman stayed here last night, and I don't think the rest is any of your business," Rachel said hotly.

Richie's mouth fell open. "You stayed here, with Pennywise running around? Don't you know he like fucking lives here?"

Rachel felt her jaw clench. There was no way she was about to explain her and Pennywise's relationship to a couple of juveniles, even if one of them was her cousin.

"Look, I don't know what you know about Pennywise, but he hasn't bothered me yet. I don't know what your problem is."

"But there's three k-kids missing," said Bill. "Including Patrick. Don't you think that's s-strange that all of a sudden Pennywise shows up and this starts h-happening?"

Rachel felt herself getting angrier. She wanted to scream. Why couldn't they just leave her and Pennywise alone? The two of them weren't hurting anything.

"I don't think Pennywise would hurt anyone unless he absolutely had to," she said evenly.

Richie looked like Rachel had just told him he would have to spend the rest of his summer working with her at the Library. "Holy shit, you fucking know him! You're seeing a fucking clown!"

"Richie, come on." She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I fucking said."

Richie wasn't done yet. "But you're just…look at you." He gestured at Rachel's outfit. "It's in the middle of the morning and you're all dressed up like you're on some hot date. And you're in…" he spread his hands out wide. "the Neibolt house!"

"Alright, that's enough. You guys need to leave." Rachel stalked past them towards the front door.

"But, Rachel, you need to listen to us," Bill pleaded as he and Richie followed. "He's not what you think."

"You know what I think?" Rachel whipped around. "I think I'm a grown woman who can take care of herself. And I think my relationships and who I spend time with are my own damn business. I really, _really_ appreciate your concern, but right now I think you need to leave before I say something I regret."

She immediately felt bad. Bill's face fell. The three of them just stood there for a minute in the uncomfortable silence.

"Sorry," Bill said.

He and Richie walked out the door.

"Sheesh, talk about hormonal issues," Rachel heard Richie mutter.

As soon as the boys left, she immediately felt bad. Rachel knew they were just trying to help, but at the same time, she was determined that if there had been any bad in Pennywise, anything really bad, she would have seen it by now.

She watched them climb on their bikes through the boards in the window. "Sorry guys, but this is my life," she muttered out loud.

"Who are you talking to, dearest?"

Rachel almost jumped out of her skin. She turned around to face Pennywise.

"I really, really wish you would stop doing that," she said.

"Oh but your fear is so intoxicating, my sweet." He grazed a gloved hand across her cheek and she felt a shiver of desire run through her.

Rachel sighed. "Bill and Richie were here. They had seen my car and decided to come snoop." She crossed her arms.

"Oh well...they're both welcome to come by anytime," Pennywise said with a shake.

"I don't want them to. They have no right to go snooping around in our business. In our house."

Pennywise's face lit up in a grin. He leaned in towards Rachel. "In _our_ house?"

"Well it's your house. Basically," she said quickly. "I meant your house."

Pennywise giggled. "You're so cute when you try to cover up a lie. My cute little kitten, wanting so badly to begin her life with me."

Now that Rachel thought about it, she had felt pretty defensive towards the boys. But it had been more than just feeling like she was defending her relationship.

She'd been defending her territory.

Rachel felt a smile creep up her face. "This _is_ our home, Pennywise."

"That it is, dearest."

"And I _am_ ready to start my life with you. I've never wanted anything more. I've never really had a sense of home. Not for a long time. I mean, I have my cozy little house, but it's not…" She waved her hand about, trying to think of a way to explain herself. "I am not complete when I'm not with you."

"I can make you complete, my kitten. I can give you ecstasy like you've never known. Shown you things you could never imagined. But in return, you must give something to me."

Rachel swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous. "Like what?"

"I need to know that you are fully mine. That you are completely devoted to me."

She furrowed her brow. "Of course I am. You know I am."

"And you want to be with me forever?"

"I want to be with you for as long as I can have you."

Pennywise gave her a coy smile. He held out his hand. "Then come with me, my pet. And I will show you everything."

Rachel took his hand, nervousness and excitement coursing through her. Pennywise led her back to the bedroom. He stood her before the bed and eyed her hungrily.

"Would you like me to undress you?" His voice was soft, gentle.

"Yes," she whispered.

Pennywise walked up to Rachel. She wouldn't be surprised if he could hear her heart hammering against her rib cage. He reached down and grabbed the hem of her dress. He slowly slid it upward. Whenever his gloved hands would graze her bare skin, her muscles would quiver. Rachel lifted her arms and he pulled the dress up over her head. He ran his hands down her still upturned arms and she shivered.

"Such a good girl. So eager to please daddy," he crooned.

"I do want to please you," Rachel replied. She ran her hands down his chest. "Tell me what to do."

"Do you want to completely give yourself to me?"

Her chest was heaving now, her breathing heavier. "Yes. In every way."

Pennywise grasped her panties and stared inching them down. He stopped when he reached the tops of her thighs.

"Do you want me to make you float, kitten?"

Rachel gave him a confused glance. "Make me float how?"

"Well... not completely float. You would be more... in between places. You would be able to see beyond and to be able to feel...more."

At that last word, Pennywise lowered his gaze at her, a lurid grin on his face. He lowered her panties some more, until they were halfway down her hips.

"See what?"

He brought his face inches from hers. "Beyond this plane."

"This plane?"

"This plane you dwell in."

"You mean enter some kind of...astral plane? Like astral projection?"

Pennywise started rubbing Rachel's hips. "If that is what you wish to call it?"

Rachel was almost hyperventilating now. This was becoming so intense. But she just had to hear more.

"What would happen to me there?"

He brought his hand around. The back of his finger slid along her nub.

"Absolute and complete..." He bent down to her ear. "Pleasure."

He slid his finger into her folds. Rachel fought back a whimper.

"Would it...hurt me? At all?"

Pennywise slowly shook his head. "Not at all, my sweet. You will not be able to feel anything. Nothing but peace." He brought his finger back up to her nub. "But any time I touch you, you will feel it."

Rachel let out a shaky breath. She wanted him to fuck her so badly she felt like she was about to lose her nerve.

"And you will like it."

"Do it. Please do it. I want to be with you. I need to be with you. Please just take me," Rachel begged in a breathy voice.

Pennywise's grin was as wide as the Cheshire cat's. "Is that what my princess wants?"

"Yes."

"Does my princess want to float?"

"Yes."

"Say it, my mate. My queen. Say my name."

"I want you to make me float, Pennywise."

Pennywise let out a soft growl. His eyes lit up with a bright white light. The world fell away.

Rachel couldn't feel her feet touching the floor anymore. She couldn't feel anything. All around her was a white haze, which shimmered like she was underwater. She couldn't see Pennywise anymore, but she could still feel his presence. Rachel felt something velvety brush against her breast. She moaned, craving for more. She tried to speak, but couldn't.

Then she felt something else, something firm yet soft rubbing against her entrance. She moaned again. She was at least capable of that. She spread her legs when she felt Pennywise's tip enter her. He pulled it back out and she grunted in protest. She tried to reach out for it, so that she could guide it back towards her.

She heard an echoing chuckle.

"What do you want, my sweet?" His voice was faint.

Rachel struggled to talk and finally managed one word.

"You."

"Do you want me?"

His tip was back at her entrance, teasing it.

"Yes."

"Do you want me, my princess? My queen?"

"Yes."

Pennywise thrusted into her. It was like hitting a gong with a mallet. Every nerve ending in her body associated with pleasure reverberated through her. Rachel let out a loud, shaky moan. He thrusted into her again. Again her body responded.

He started fucking her. Hard. Each thrust was a shock to Rachel's system. She let her mouth fall open as the most intense ecstasy she had ever felt in her life undulated through her like billows of hot smoke. Her body grew completely limp—a puppet on a string.

She felt something wet land on her bottom lip. She instinctively licked at it. Whatever it was tasted sweet with a hint of tanginess to it. She wanted more. She felt another drop and licked at it again. Rachel moaned. She felt a slow, tingly heat spread through her core and abdomen. Something firm pressed against her lips, smearing some more of the sweet, mysterious nectar. She licked at it. Some of the nectar dripped into her mouth. She swallowed it. She had never tasted anything so divine.

Rachel moaned loudly as Pennywise continued to mate with her. She latched on to the thing that was at her mouth and sucked hungrily. She heard a growl. She guessed it was coming from Pennywise, but she didn't know. She didn't even care anymore. The delicious, tingling sensation continued inside her core. She started whimpering. The wet thing at her mouth disappeared. Before she could make another sound, something sharp sunk into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. It bit down hard. Pain shot into her neck. At the same time, Pennywise rammed against her g-spot. Rachel threw her head back so far, her neck popped as the most intense orgasm of her life shot through her like a rocket blast. She let out a sound that was half scream, half moan. Streams of cum spurted out of her. She kept going as her body became a conduit of pleasure. And Pennywise was the conductor.

The sharp pressure at her neck went away as the last bit of energy Rachel possessed left her body. She didn't want to move. She couldn't anyway. Pennywise continued thrusting into her as she continued to float in her oasis of light. Her own eyes were a pale white, a reflection of her languid surroundings as she stared upward. An image appeared in the shimmering white, floating far above her. She could barely see it at first, but when it came more into focus, it was unmistakable. It was a large sea turtle. It appeared to be swimming. Rachel's eyes trained on it in rapt fascination. She felt her attention start to wonder away from her clown lover. And before she knew what she was doing, her hand was reaching up, towards the turtle. She wanted to go to him.

A loud, unearthly growl that sounded more like a shriek rang out right in front of Rachel. The white fell away and she landed on the floor with a heavy thud. She was back in the Neibolt house. Her whole body started twitching. There was a sharp, deep pain in the right side of her neck. She felt something drip down her shoulder and realized she was bleeding. And the strange nectar was still in her mouth.

Pennywise was growling and yelling.

"Mine! She is mine! He will not have her!"

He punched the wall a couple of times. Then he pulled at the sheets on the bed. The clown was in a total rampage. He started yelling again in some strange language that Rachel didn't recognize.

Rachel brought a shaky hand to her mouth and touched her lips. She pulled away her hand and stared at it in horror. Blood. On her lips. And in her mouth. It was blood that she had drunk. And there was only one person who it could have belonged to.

"What have you done?"

Her voice was barely above a whisper. She brought her other hand up to touch her neck. She felt several small holes and started whimpering. Rachel pulled her hand back. More blood.

"What have you done? Pennywise, what have you done to me?" she shrieked.

Pennywise turned on her. She gasped. His yellow eyes were tinged with red. And he had blood on his mouth.

"Mine. You are mine. Mine forever. He will not have you. I must protect you. I must hide you."

Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Pennywise came towards her.

"What-"

He put his hand to her forehead and she blacked out.


	16. Chapter 16

Cold, lumpy hardness. That was what Rachel felt when she woke up. Her head felt heavy as she slowly sat up. The air was quiet and still around her and it had a cool, clamminess to it. She was somewhere dark. And she was still in her glittery red dress. Her shoulder was a mess of burning, throbbing holes. She could feel fresh blood trickle down her arm. She reached up and felt something stiff right below the wound. Pennywise must have tried to stop some of the bleeding. She turned sideways and started to hoist herself up and her stomach gave a lurch. She put her hand on it. Her throat tightened and she gagged. Rachel sat still for a minute and breathed deeply. She didn't know where she was or how long she had been there for, but she needed to find out. She hoisted herself to her feet. She had been lying behind a big pile of rock. Now that she was standing above it, she wished she wouldn't have gotten up.

She had just woken up to a horror scene.

Rachel was in a vast room. It was so big, she couldn't even see the ceiling. But it was what was a ways in front of her that had her standing with her mouth open, not in awe, but in horror.

There were dozens of children floating in a lazy spiral. A bright light shown all around them. They were so still, she didn't know if they were dead or alive. She felt a shiver run through her. She put her hand over her mouth when she saw what suspiciously looked like an arm floating in the languid, macabre tornado. Rachel glanced to her right. There was giant tower of junk. And right next to it, wearing a white tee shirt and boxer shorts, floated a very familiar looking figure. Rachel held her breath as she slowly made her way to him and fought back a sob when her suspicions became verified.

It was Chris. Rachel started crying. She didn't know if he was dead or alive. She passed a horrified glance back towards the floating children. Was this what floating really looked like? Like you were just suspended in midair like some lifeless corpse? Was this what Pennywise was going to do with her after he had finished mating with her this last time? She thought of the turtle she had seen. How when she was in her trance, she had reached towards it like it was some kind of lifeline. Now it was time for her to be Chris's.

She went towards him and reached up for him with both arms. Rachel whimpered as the pain in her shoulder deepened. She started to get lightheaded and had to take a breath. She stood on her tip toes and, reaching with her good arm, grabbed his ankle and pulled. Chris slowly floated downwards. Rachel had tears streaming down her face now. Chris's feet settled on the floor. His eyes were a milky white.

"Chris?" She shook his shoulders gently. No response. She placed her hands on either side of his face. "Chris, look at me. Please." She shook him harder. "Chris? Chris, please wake up. I need you. I can't make it out of here without you."

Rachel shook him harder and said his name more loudly. She started wracking her brain trying to think of what could wake him. She really didn't want to slap him in the face and she didn't think splashing him with water would work either. Not that she even had any around. And then a wild idea popped into her head. And she ran with it.

Without any further hesitation, Rachel kissed Chris firmly on the mouth. She let the kiss linger for a few seconds and then pulled away. The response was almost instantaneous. Chris's milky gaze vanished, his green eyes back to normal. Rachel let out a shaky laugh. Chris's shoulders drooped, but at least he was alert. His eyes landed on her.

"Rachel?"

She nodded reassuringly. "I'm here, Chris."

His gaze wondered to her neck and his expression grew hard. "What happened to you?"

"Chris, we need to get out of here," Rachel said quickly.

"What happened? Did _he_ do this to you?"

"Chris, we don't have much time. I don't know when he's coming back."

"Rachel, if he hurt you, I swear to God-"

"Listen to me!" Her voice echoed around the chamber. "There is a lot going on that you don't know about. And I swear I will tell you everything. But if we don't move out right now…I don't know what he's going to do to you. And I am _not_ going to let something else bad happen to you because of me."

Chris narrowed his eyes. Finally he nodded. "If you know the way out of here, then let's go."

The stone floor felt cold and slimy on Rachel's bare feet as she led Chris to where the stairs were. She slowed when they reached that spot and felt her stomach drop like a stone. She stepped into the circular stone space and spread out her hands.

"Stairs. There were stairs here."

"What stairs? Rachel, there's nothing there," said Chris.

A surge of anger filled Rachel and she placed her hands against the well and leaned into it. Reality came crashing down on her like an avalanche.

"Lie. It was all a lie."

Images started flashing through her mind from the last month. Pennywise protecting her and taking care of her. Roman dancing with her, making love to her. And the ballroom—the carousel and the slide—a sick cover-up for what really lied beneath. And now he had brought her and Chris down here. Trapped them down here.

She shook her head. "We are never getting out."

"Don't say that. There has to be another way out. We just need to find it."

Rachel knew Chris was just trying to make her feel better. But at the moment, she didn't think anything could. Her shoulder throbbed and burned like a merciless beast was gnawing at it.

 _He already did,_ she thought in disgust.

Rachel placed her hand on her stomach as a sudden bout of nausea flared up. She hadn't eaten in a while. And as far as she knew, it would probably be a while longer yet. She leaned sideways and rested her temple against the cool stone. Chris was probably going to die now. And it was all her fault. She thought about the play that she had just been in. Where was her fairy godmother now? Rachel stated singing softly.

" _Impossible, for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage_

 _Impossible, for a plain country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage"_

Rachel thought of Pennywise and her heart clinched. She really did love him. Why was he doing this to her? Did he do this to all those kids? And if he did, why? Was he really that far gone? She put her hand over her face and wept.

She heard a loud grinding sound, like stone against stone, to her right. She felt herself slowly being pushed and opened her eyes. The wall wasn't moving. Or was it? She glanced to the right of her and jumped back. A section of the wall was growing outward in the shape of steps. Rachel lifted her gaze upward, her mouth now hanging open. A spiraled stone staircase was emerging from the wall of the well, and from what she could tell, it reached all the way to the top.

"Now there's something you don't see every day," she heard Chris say beside her.

The stone stopped moving. The steps were plenty wide enough to walk on. Rachel reached a tentative hand out and pushed against them. They were completely stable.

"Is this uh… part of what's going on that I don't know about?" Chris asked.

Rachel shook her head slowly. She was in complete awe. "I think it's something that even I don't know about." She put her foot on the first step.

Chris put his hand on her shoulder. "What if it's a trap?"

"I don't think it is. Pennywise wanted me down here. Like _really_ wanted me down here." Rachel gestured at the stairs. "Whoever did this wants me to get away. To get away from Pennywise."

Chris snorted. "What, like someone's helping you? Like your fairy godmother or something?"

For some reason the floating turtle popped into Rachel's head. She smiled. Maybe her fairytale wasn't quite over after all.

"Yeah, Chris. I think so."

* * *

Rachel gasped when she stepped up out of the trap door. The air was thick, like she was walking through sludge. And it had a faint shimmer to it. She took another step and the air was back to normal. Her legs were shaking. It had almost taken an act of Congress to climb the stairs. She felt weak and her nausea had increased. The wound on her neck was giving her issues too. Fresh blood dripped from it and it throbbed mercilessly. She swayed forward, fighting to stay upright. Chris came up behind her.

"Where are we?" he inquired.

"This is the Neibolt house."

Rachel glanced around nervously. Pennywise could be anywhere. She had a feeling that he wouldn't be happy if he caught her. She swayed again. Chris placed his hand on her back.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know." Her voice was faint.

"Well let's get you out of here. Get you to the hospital."

Chris put his arm around her and led her through the house. She could see the front door. The stairs were to her left. Something jumped down in front of them, blocking their path. Rachel and Chris both screamed. It was Pennywise. His signature grin adorned his face. Rachel felt her blood start to boil, not from lust, but from anger.

"And where are you going to, my dear?"

"Penny, you need to let me go. I am hurt. I need to get help." Rachel swayed again. She just knew she was going to pass out cold right there.

"I can't let you do that. You need to stay here. I need to protect you."

"What the fuck? Protect her from who? You're the one she needs protecting from," Chris said hotly.

Pennywise regarded Chris as if seeing him for the first time. "I don't think I was talking to you little man boy," he said tartly.

"Penny, this is ridiculous. You need to let us go!"

"Yeah. What the hell do you want with us anyway?" said Chris.

Pennywise started slowly advancing towards Chris. His smile was completely gone. "Your hands off my mate will be fine to start with."

"Penny." Rachel's voice was barely above a whisper. "Please."

Chris's hand tightened around her waist. "If you think I'm going to let you come anywhere near her…" he hissed.

The edges of Rachel's vision were getting dark. She was growing weaker by the second. Pennywise growled at Chris. Rachel stepped out of Chris's embrace towards her lover with her arm outstretched.

"No. Penny, please-"

Rachel collapsed.

Chris lunged for her, but Pennywise was faster. He got into a protective crouch over her body. His yellow eyes glared up at Chris, daring him to touch her. Chris stopped in his tracks.

Pennywise glanced down at Rachel's lifeless form. He reached out and started stroking her hair. Chris grit his teeth, completely appalled at the sight of the monstrous clown touching her in such a familiar way.

"You think that's gonna help her?" Chris shot at Pennywise. "I don't know what you've done to her, what kind of spell you've put her under, but if you have _any_ kind of feelings for her at all, you'll let me get her the help she needs."

Pennywise continued stroking her hair. He gently laid a hand on her abdomen.

"So what's it gonna be?"


	17. Chapter 17

Pennywise was in a rage. He grabbed a bent up bicycle and threw it halfway across his lair. An old teddy bear went next, followed by a grimy jacket.

"Why was I so foolish? I should have never let that _human_ take her," he ranted at the empty air.

He saw a football helmet at the edge of his trash mountain and kicked it for good measure. How had they gotten up the well? Pennywise had racked his mind over and over, but just couldn't come up with an answer.

He could still see her collapsing in front of him, losing consciousness from something he had done. He had sworn he would never have hurt her. But he had failed her. And when that stupid, human male came rushing towards her, Pennywise wanted to pound him against the wall to where it left an imprint. It should be Pennywise at the hospital with her instead. Or rather Roman. He was sure she wouldn't mind seeing him.

And when Pennywise had placed his hand on her, he had felt a tracing of his magic upon her. Was it that she was starting to gain some of his abilities? Was it her that had magiced a way up the well? He quickly dismissed that idea. Yes something was definitely changing about his mate. And it was time that he figured out what it was.

* * *

Rachel was in a large, dark, pentagonal shaped room with narrow strips of black stone wall that stretched up farther than she could see. The black marble floor was cold on her bare feet. She glanced down at herself. She was wearing a dress that shimmered either charcoal grey or silver, depending on how the pale light hit it. It had a plunging v-shaped neckline that went down the valley of her breasts.

All around her were floating bubbles of different sizes. Some were as small as a golf ball and some as big as a dodge ball like you would play with at recess in elementary school. But it was what was in the bubbles that caught Rachel's attention. A bubble the size on an apple floated by her. She peered inside. Within its confines she could see a miniature galaxy. She started walking around the room, checking out all the different bubbles. It was the same with each one.

She saw something out the corner of her eye. It was a sliver of blue light. She followed it out the room, down a short hallway. She rounded the corner and what she saw made her gasp. Beyond a wide opening was a large balcony. And beyond that was nothing but blue sky. Rachel stepped out of the darkness onto the balcony. When she got closer to the edge, she stopped short. A complete look of awe came over her as she saw what lay before her. As far as the eye could see, far, far down below her, was land. Different landscapes spread out before her like a patchwork quilt. Brown desert sat next to white snow, which in turn sat next to green, lush fields. She turned to the right. A vast mountainous region lay ahead. Rachel glanced behind her. The building that she had come out of rose up behind her like a dark, stone finger with three pointed spears on top of it. She turned back around and was again met with a sight that filled her with awe.

A giant sea turtle floated in front of her. His wizened old, benevolent face stared at her. Right away, Rachel knew she had seen him before.

"It's you. I knew it was a turtle I saw this morning."

"Indeed I am, child." The turtle spoke, though no words came from his mouth. His voice was slow and ancient sounding. "I am called Maturin. And I have been watching you."

Rachel blushed. "Oh?" She glanced down sheepishly.

"Do not be ashamed, child. You are young and are experiencing first love."

"But to what end? He just... he confuses me so much. Sometimes he is so gentle and other times..." Rachel glanced down at her shoulder wound. It was gone. She glanced back at the turtle. "How?"

"Your essence is not in your body, Rachel. You are in the Dark Tower. The center of all things."

Rachel glanced down at all the different landscapes beneath her. "It's so amazing."  
Then back up to the turtle. "Why did you bring me here?"

"To show you what you must fight for. What you have a greater purpose for."

Rachel glanced sideways at him. "I don't understand. Fight for what?"

"There are those who would seek to bring this tower down. To create chaos and discord."

"And what does that have to do with me? I'm just a normal person. Well maybe not anymore now that me and Pennywise have..." Rachel studied the turtle. He nodded at her as if reading her thoughts. "Pennywise is part of the problem isn't he?"

"Not directly. But he is a problem none the less. His peculiar... taste goes against everything I hold dear. Against everything that is good."

"You mean because he eats animals? And you're an animal."

"Oh my child, your naivety is both a blessing and a curse. Pennywise knew what he was doing when he chose you for his mate."

"Pennywise has been nothing but good to me. He's never done anything to hurt me until now, and even this I'm sure he has a good reason for."

"Indeed he has. By exchanging your blood with his, he has bound you to him, making you immortal like him."

Rachel's mouth fell open. "What? Why didn't he tell me? He could have just asked. I might have said yes." She was getting angry now. She started to pace on the balcony. "I need to get back. This isn't right. I need to talk to him."

"And Indeed you shall, Rachel. But be strong. You belong with Pennywise. You are the yin to his yang, but even that balance can be tipped the wrong way if you should choose the wrong path."

Rachel spread her hands. "Great. That's uh... exactly what I needed to hear." But actually she was more confused now than ever. Choose the wrong path? How would she know which one that was when Pennywise was such a gray character in the grand scheme of things?

"You shall know, my child. You shall know." Maturin said as though reading your mind. "Your journey with Pennywise is just beginning and it will not be easy. But you will not be alone. There will be others that you can trust. Turn to them. And remember this: if you ever doubt your reason to keep fighting, you will find the reason to continue inside you. Farewell, Rachel Porter."

And with that, Maturin floated away.

"Ok. Nothing strange about that." Rachel turned around and was about to go back inside when she stopped. A small dark shape was emerging from the shadows. It was a child, a little girl. She stepped out onto the balcony. Her long, curly copper colored hair swayed in the breeze. She wore a long sleeved white dress with ruffles at the wrists. Her light golden brown eyes stood out against her pale skin. Rachel watched her as she approached her. The girl raised her arm towards her.

"Come home with me. Come back." Her voice was faint. "We don't belong here."

Rachel stepped backwards. Something was off about the girl. She kept coming towards Rachel.

"Come back with me."

Rachel stepped back again. She fell backwards and her arms started flailing. She tried to right herself, but it was too late. She teetered over the edge and fell. The sky rushed past her as the wind buffeted her body. She kept falling. She thought she would fall forever, but finally she landed.

She let out a loud, gasping breath as her head and torso shot upwards and then fell back down. She was in a white room lying in a bed. There was a young woman standing next to her wearing dark blue. Rachel's eyes frantically scanned the room and she thought her heart was going to fly out of her chest. She saw her mom standing at the foot of the bed with her hands over her mouth. Chris was standing next to her.

"We got her back. We got her back," the lady next to Rachel said.

Rachel tried to sit up as her breaths came out in short gasps. Her right arm stopped short as if something was holding it back. She looked over and saw wires attached to her. She must have been in the hospital. She heard a loud, frantic beeping sound.

"It's alright. You need to calm down," said the lady in blue as she gently pushed on Rachel's chest.

"Roman. Where's Roman?" Rachel struggled to sit up.

"Shh. I need you to calm down, sweetheart," said the woman.

"Roman!" Rachel hollered.

Whatever had happened to her had not been normal. And it had not been a dream. That much she was certain of. She was so scared it was going to happen again. She needed a lifetime. Something concrete to hold on to.

"Roman!"

The lady in blue, who Rachel had now figured out was a doctor, pressed a button on the wall. "I need assistance in room 205. Patient is awake and is becoming erratic."

"Roman!" Rachel screamed his name this time. Two seconds later, the door flew open and her beloved came running in.

"Roman." Rachel automatically reached out to him. He tried to come at her, but the doctor stood in front of him with her hands up.

"I'm sorry, sir. You need to step back."

"Look, that's my girl. I need to get to her," Roman said.

"Sir, please. Let the doctors handle this."

Rachel saw Roman's jaw clench. Luckily her mom stepped in. "Dr. Carter, this is my daughter's friend. He's the one she was just hollering for. Please let him get to her."

The doctor reluctantly stepped aside. As soon as Roman was within reach, Rachel put her arms out to him. He came into her embrace and held her tightly. Rachel started sobbing.

"Don't ever leave me, Roman. Don't ever leave me."

"Shh. I'm here, kitten. I'm here." Roman stroked her hair gently. "I'm not going anywhere."

"What's happening to me? What's happening?" Rachel broke down and tightened her hold on the man she loved.

He kept stroking her hair. "Shh. I'm right here, baby girl."

The door flew open and two male orderlies came in. "What's the problem?" one of them asked.

"I think she's alright now," Dr. Carter said. "She was just scared."

Roman sat back and placed his hands on either side of Rachel's temples. "Rachel, what happened?" he asked gently. "Why are you so afraid?"

"I saw- I was somewhere- I think I left my body." Rachel started hyperventilating. The heart monitor started beeping loudly again.

"Look, maybe you should get out of here. Can't you see you're making her more upset?" Chris asked hotly.

Roman turned sideways on the bed, his intense gaze landing on Chris. "I don't think I was talking to you, boy."

Chris narrowed his gaze as it dawned on him who this new guy was. "You just can't leave her alone, can you?"

"I think your part is done here," Roman said in a warning tone.

Chris stepped forward. "Just what in the hell are you?"

"Chris, please." Rachel pleaded. "Not here."

Roman placed his hand over her. "If you want him to leave, just say so," he said quietly.

"Actually I think you should all leave," said Dr. Carter. "We need to make sure Rachel's vitals are stable and start treating her wound. We also need to draw some blood to make sure there's no infection from the bite."

Rachel lowered her head at the doctor's words. Now that her mind was clear and awake, images from that morning—she assumed it was still the same day—started replaying through her mind. She reached up to touch her neck. Someone had haphazardly placed a large square bandage over the bite. She glanced up under her eyelashes at Roman. He frowned at her and gently squeezed her hand. He leaned over.

"I'm so sorry, kitten." His voice was so quiet, Rachel could barely hear it. "You know I would never intentionally hurt you."

"I know. And you know I love you. I just…" She wiped away a stray tear. "I need a minute."

Roman patted her hand. "I'll be outside. Just call for me if you need."

Rachel nodded. Roman bent and kissed her on the cheek. He was almost to the door, Rachel's mom close on his heels when she felt panic start to settle in again. What if Maturin sucked her back up into the tower again?

"Wait!"

Her mom and Roman both turned.

"Please stay. I don't want to be left alone."

Roman came back inside. Rachel rubbed her sweaty palms nervously on the red dress that she was still wearing.

"Chris, can you leave the room please?"

Chris shot her a questioning glance. Then it turned to anger. He shot a glare at Roman. "You want me to leave?"

"Please. For now."

Roman spread his arm out towards the door.

"If you need any help, I'll be in the hall." Chris made his way to the door.

"Chris?"

He turned.

Rachel gave him a weak smile. "Thank you for helping me."

He nodded and left.

Rachel heaved an uneasy sigh. Chris had really been a big help and she felt guilty for kicking him out. But like Roman had said, his role was over. Dr. Carter shooed out the orderlies as well. Rachel started picking at the wire taped to her finger.

"Oh yes, we can take those off now," said Dr. Carter. She started removing the tape and took off the heart monitor.

"What did you need it for?" Rachel asked.

"Well, right after we brought you in here, you started having… issues."

"What kind of issues?"

"Blood pressure dropping, becoming unresponsive. We thought you were going into shock."

"We were very worried about you, honey," Rachel's mom added.

Rachel simply nodded. With as much blood as she had lost, she wasn't surprised. Dr. Carter grabbed a small flashlight.

"So what was it that bit you?" Dr. Carter asked.

Rachel cast a quick glance at Roman. "I didn't get a good look at it," she said.

"Was it some kind of animal?"

Rachel barked out a laugh. "I guess some people would call it that."

Dr. Carter was back standing over her now. Well whatever it was, I'm glad it didn't get you worse than it did. Look up for me," she told Rachel.

As soon as she shown the flashlight in Rachel's eye, Rachel gasped and looked away. The light had been terribly bright, almost blindingly bright. She closed her eyes and saw a big yellow spot in her vision.

Dr. Carter backed off. "I'm sorry. Was that too bright for you? I know the lighting isn't the best in here. We wanted to make for an easier transition once you woke up."

Rachel blinked a few times. The spot was still there, but it was starting to fade. "No. It's fine," she said.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to try again?"

Rachel took a deep breath. "Yeah. Sure. Go ahead."

Dr. Carter shined the light back in her eyes, checking one pupil, then the other. It didn't seem quite as bright this time. "Beautiful eyes. Light golden brown," Dr. Carter said idly. "You don't see that very often.

"Wait, what?" Rachel said.

"Yes your eyes do look different, honey. Since when did you get contacts?" her mom inquired.

"Uh…" Rachel said in a shaky voice. She glanced back and forth frantically between the doctor, her mom, and Roman. "My eyes look different?"

Dr. Carter cast a confused glance at Sarah. Rachel's mom came closer on the other side of the bed. She leaned in towards Rachel. "Oh your eyes definitely look lighter. They're almost yellow."

Rachel's heart started hammering against her rib cage. She was definitely glad that Dr. Carter had taken her off the heart monitor. She threw a horrified glance at Roman. The look on his face was neutral.

Rachel thought of the little girl on the balcony of the tower. Her eyes had been a light golden brown. Was that what Rachel's eyes looked like now? Was that what the girl represented? A newer, reborn version of her? But the girl's hair had been different. More like Pennywise's.

Rachel sat straight up in bed with a jolt and gasped.

"Rachel? What's wrong?" her mom asked in a concerned voice.

Rachel totally ignored her. She was now in a state of panic. "No. No. This isn't happening." She put her face in her hands and started hyperventilating again.

Pregnant. She wasn't pregnant. There was no way. She started shaking her head. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Rachel, honey, you're starting to scare me." It was her mom.

Rachel felt bile start to rise up. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"Grab a waste basket," Sarah hollered at Dr. Carter. The doctor grabbed one.

"Roman, maybe you should leave for now," Sarah told him. "I don't think she would want you to see her like this."

Rachel started gagging.

"Go," Sarah told Roman.

He left the room. Rachel threw up.

* * *

Chris was standing in the hallway near Rachel's door. "So did she kick you out too?"

"No, she uh... she got sick," Roman answered in a forlorn voice.

"Let me guess. Something else you're responsible for."

Roman sighed. "Perhaps."

Chris shook his head. "So what are you, a shapeshifter?"

"Among other things."

"And this is what, a form you took to seduce her?"

Roman scratched at an itch on his chin. "Actually it was the clown she was attracted to first."

Chris gave a sardonic laugh. "You don't say."

Roman gave a lazy shrug. "Believe it or not. I actually took on this form because she asked me to. And I aim to please my mate."

"And that ugly bite you gave her? Was that to please her also?" Chris retorted.

"She's tougher than you think she is. Or should I say... wilder. She let me drink her blood. And she drank mine as well."

"Then you must have fucking forced her to do it," Chris hissed, anger now apparent in his voice. "Because there is no way Rachel would do something like that."

"Oh she did it." Roman was now in Chris's face, leering at him. "And she might not have been expecting it, but she didn't complain either. You should have seen her downing it. Heard the moans escaping her beautiful lips. Just like when me and Pennywise's heads are between her legs, tasting her sweet cum-"

 _Bam!_ Chris's fist connected with Roman's jaw. Roman staggered backwards a couple of steps.

"You sick son of a bitch," Chris snarled.

Roman moved his jaw around as he stood back up straight. "If you really knew me, you wouldn't have just done that," he said in an indifferent tone.

"I know enough," Chris spat. "I know you've taken a good, sweet, innocent girl and sucked her into your dark and twisted version of reality."

Roman chuckled darkly. "My _reality_?My reality will still exist long after you and everyone you know will return to dust. And as far as Rachel, I have made it to where she will not have to face that anymore."

"So what, you've cursed her? Put some kind of spell on her?"

Roman rolled his eyes. "You humans and your fairytales. Well let me tell you something, Chris." He spat out Chris's name with contempt. "This isn't a fairytale. And it goes far, _far_ beyond any reality you can ever begin to imagine." He pointed at his own chest. " _I_ go far beyond anything you can ever begin to imagine. And now so will Rachel. And not because I tricked her or put her under some spell." He made air quotes with his fingers. "It'll be because she chose it."

"Yeah, and I'm sure you gave her every single detail too," said Chris.

"And if your God would have told you humans millennia ago that the world was round, or that there was life outside your measly little planet, do you think they would have believed Him?"

"God keeps things hidden from us for a reason. And now I know why if it involves anything like you," said Chris.

"Exactly," said Roman. "I want to protect her. And if I had to deceive her a little bit to do it, then so be it."

"Keep telling yourself that that's the reason why you're putting her through all this. You and I both know that that's bullshit."

Roman shrugged. "Call it what it is."

Rachel's mom stuck her head out of the door. "Roman? She's asking for you."

"Coming," Roman told her.

The door closed. Roman got up to where he was almost in Chris's face. He lowered his voice. "And speaking of calling, don't ever forget that in the end, _I_ will always be the one whose name she calls."

Roman gave Chris his signature Pennywise grin. He winked at Chris and clapped him on the shoulder, then went back into Rachel's room, leaving Chris standing fuming by himself in the hallway.

* * *

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief when Roman walked through the door. She and her mom had been having a long overdue heartfelt mother-daughter talk. Rachel had told Sarah that she and Roman had been seeing each other and that she loved him. And of course Sarah had congratulated her daughter and gave her her blessing, which had made Rachel tear up.

Sarah told the two of them that she was going to get coffee. Then she patted Roman on the arm. "Oh, happy Fourth of July, Roman. And welcome to the family."

"Thanks, Mrs. Kenvyn," he said.

Sarah left. Roman could tell right off the bat that something was upsetting Rachel.

He sat on her bed. "What's wrong, kitten? What do you need to talk about?"

Rachel decided to cut to the chase. "I have things that I need to tell you and ask you, and… Penny, please don't be upset."

Roman put his hand on her arm. "This is serious. I can tell. You never call me that unless it is. What's wrong, kitten?"

Rachel took a deep breath and told him of her dream. Or as she had come now come to realize it was, her out of body experience. The only parts she left out was the little girl at the end and where she and Maturin had talked about Pennywise's questionable habits.

Now it was Roman's turn to take a deep breath. "I can't say I'm surprised. I should have known he would try to get to you like this. That he would try to recruit you and turn you away from me."

"Who is he?"

"Maturin is an ancient being, just like me. He guards the Dark Tower. The place where you were at."

"And what is the Dark Tower?"

"The Dark Tower is…" Roman idly waved his hand about. "It's the center of the universe. Or the macro-verse as it's also known. Maturin is one of its guardians."

"And why would he be interested in me?"

Roman grabbed her hand and held it. "What do you think interested _me_ in you? You're strong willed. And you're willing to believe in more than what you're used to. Just that right there is enough to attract any supernatural being to you."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Just what I need. Another supernatural admirer."

Roman snorted. "I doubt that's what he's after you for. Of course you know I wouldn't share you." He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it, a sly grin on his face.

Rachel's stomach gave a lurch. Now it was time for the questions she really dreaded.

"Penny, why did you bring Chris below the Neibolt house?"

Roman lowered her hand, but he still held on to it. "I am a jealous being, Rachel. When you told me you were going to see Chris, I panicked. Just the idea of the two of you speaking together infuriated me."

"But you told me you were fine with my going to see him."

Roman sighed. "I thought I was. I was wrong. I am sorry."

"And what about the floating children? Are they dead? Did you have anything to do with that?" Rachel's voice was starting to become frantic now.

Roman started rubbing her arm. "Hey, hey. Shh. Most of them are dead. And yes, I put them all there. I find...missing children... dead missing children and put them in that state."

Rachel stared at him in horror. "But... why? Why would you do something like that?"

"To spare their families. To make sure the children are at peace."

"But their families need to know. Oh my God." Rachel put her hand on her forehead. She was starting to get a severe headache. "Oh my God. I can't believe this." She blew out a loud breath.

Roman was still rubbing her arm. "Lot to process again?"

Rachel let out a shaky laugh. "Oh you don't know the half of it. Every time I think I get used to this, it's just... bam! My mind gets blown all over again and, oh God, Roman why didn't you just tell me you wanted to up our relationship?" Rachel put her head in her hands. "I mean, you made me drink your blood." She put her hands in front of his face. "Who the hell does that shit, Roman?"

"You asked me to do it, Rachel."

Rachel stared at him in shock. "What? Whoa. I think I would remember telling you that, and I most certainly do not."

"Well, maybe not in those exact words. But you at least said you wanted to be with me for however long you could have me."

Rachel started racking her brain. And then she remembered. The night of the play.

"Behind the Neibolt house," she said.

"Yes. I asked if you wanted to be with me forever and you said for as long as you could have me."

"But you should have asked me, Roman. You should have asked _me_ if I wanted to be bound to you even more further and we already were."

Roman bobbed his head in agreement. "I know, kitten, I know. I messed up so bad. I just…" He grabbed her shoulders. "You don't know how desperate I am not to lose you. When I saw you on that floor tonight, bleeding and unconscious… I wanted to take it back so badly. You have no fucking idea. I hate myself for what I did to you. I betrayed your trust in the worst way possible. And I swear to you, if I have to…" He placed his hands on either side of her face. "I will spend an eternity making it up to you, but please, say you forgive me for this. For everything."

Rachel sighed deeply. "So what does this mean for us now? What are we?"

Roman dropped his hands. He turned away from her. "You and I are imprinted on each other. No matter where we are, we'll be able to tell what each other is thinking and feeling. Or at least you'll be able to do it with me now anyway. I've always been able to do it with you."

"So what is our relationship status? What would you call the human version of it?"

Roman placed his hand back over hers. "Well, I don't know how to say this, Rachel. Your blood is inside me now. And vice versa. If I were human, you and I would be-"

There was a knock on the door. Rachel and Roman both glanced up. A young blonde nurse walked in.

"Hi," she said. "I'm so sorry to interrupt. I'm here to take your blood now."

Rachel turned her head away. "At least you warned me beforehand," she muttered under her breath.

Roman gave her a weak smile and squeezed her hand. "I'll be outside."

He got up and left. The nurse took Rachel's blood.

"There is a lab here in the hospital. We should have the results back in no later than two days," she said. She started to leave.

"Hey, wait," Rachel said. The nurse stopped. "Can you look for other things besides infections?"

"Sure. What else would you like us to check for?"

Rachel took a deep breath. "Pregnancy. I need to see if I'm pregnant."

That night Rachel lay in her hospital bed asleep. The doctors had decided to keep her overnight for observation. She had been given a clean hospital gown and was allowed to take a shower and clean off the rest of the dried blood.

As she slept, someone entered her room. She didn't see who it was. Or that he had come up to her bed and placed his hand over her midsection. She didn't see him close his yellow eyes in concentration or when his eyes popped back open. She certainly didn't see the look of shock and horror on his painted face.

Or hear him growl in hunger.


	18. Chapter 18

***** _This chapter contains sex, self pleasure, and a brief description of Pennywise's, ahem, body*****_

The door opened and Rachel shuffled out of her hospital room bathroom. She had been awake since 7 am and had been throwing up off and on since. It was now 8 am. She slowly crawled back into bed and flopped onto her back.

"There is no way this is not morning sickness," she mumbled to the ceiling.

She had eaten just fine last night, but her meal was all gone now. She crossed her arms loosely over her chest. She really needed to call Mrs. Stout and tell her she was going to be out for the day, but Rachel just didn't have the energy. What difference did it make now? From the way Roman and Maturin both talked, Rachel was going to outlive her anyway. Her and everyone else Rachel knew. She sighed deeply.

"That day's not coming any time soon," she said out loud.

So she sat up and called her boss. All Rachel told her was that she was sick and couldn't make it in, which wasn't an actual lie. As much as her stomach was acting up, she technically was sick.

She was about to hang up the phone when there was knock on the door. Your Aunt Susan walked in with Bill and Georgie. Rachel finished her phone call and said her hellos.

"We heard you were in the hospital. Sarah said you were attacked by an animal," Aunt Susan said as she gently pulled Rachel into a hug.

"I guess you could say that," Rachel said.

Bill kept eyeing her shoulder, but he still gave her a hug. Even Georgie had an uneasy look on his face. Rachel spoke to her aunt for several minutes, but then Georgie announced that he needed the bathroom. Rachel had a feeling he was just getting uncomfortable being around her in the state she was in. Aunt Susan started to ask Bill to take him, but then decided to do it herself. She left Rachel and Bill in an uncomfortable silence.

"Did h-he do that to you?"

Rachel played with the edge of the sheet. Her face started to burn from embarrassment.

"Yes."

"You need to s-stay far away from him, Rachel. Pennywise is dangerous. What if he hurts you worse? What if he tries to k-kill you?" Bill was talking fast now.

"He's not gonna hurt me, Bill," Rachel said defensively. "What he did was inexcusable, but he wouldn't...he wouldn't..."

Rachel couldn't bring herself to finish. The truth was, she didn't know what Pennywise was capable of anymore. She wanted so badly to be out of that hospital. She wanted to go home and curl up in her bed and just hide from the world for a while. Hide from Pennywise, hide from Maturin and his quest for her to help him save the world, or whatever else he wanted her for.

"Just please do me a favor and stay away from the Neibolt house, alright, Bill. You and your friends. I know you're afraid he's going to hurt me, but you're the ones who are going to be on his territory. Alright?"

Bill didn't answer.

Rachel didn't mean to sound so harsh, but after what she had seen in the sewers, she didn't want her cousin to take any risks.

"Bill?"

Bill nodded. "I will, Rachel. But you need to stay away too."

"I'll do my best," she muttered, though she couldn't quite meet his gaze.

Her aunt Susan came back in. The two of them visited for a while, but then the nurse came in to bring Rachel her breakfast. Rachel frowned, but still told her thank you. She didn't even know if her weak stomach would be able to handle food. Her aunt and Bill went ahead and left so she could eat. Surprisingly she was able to keep her breakfast down. Dr. Carter came and checked on her one last time and said she could leave.

Rachel got dressed in the clothes her mom had come dropped off for her some time during the night. While she and Roman were visiting the night before, Chris had stuck his head in and told her where her car was parked at and returned her keys. She found her car and sat in it for a little bit. She really didn't feel like being home alone but she wasn't really up for any more company.

She thought about the conversation she and her mom had had the night before. It was the best and longest one they had had in a long while. Rachel thought about how happy Sarah had been when Rachel told her about her and Roman and Rachel's spirits fell. Sarah had no idea what was really going on. That her only daughter was mated to an otherworldly being. And that now she might be pregnant for him as well.

Rachel put her hand to the wound on her shoulder. A large bandage was tightly taped over it. She closed her eyes as she replayed how she got that wound.

The relentless pounding of Pennywise's cock into her wetness. The blood. That sweet and tangy, delicious blood flowing past her lips. She instantly started throbbing. She wanted him between her legs so badly. Wanted to feel him move inside her.

* * *

Down in the sewers, Pennywise sat with his eyes closed. He was searching for something. Someone. When he finally found her, his eyes popped open. An evil grin adorned his face. If anyone had been down there, they would have seen two glowing eyes. Pennywise closed his eyes again. He could feel the girl's anguish and sorrow. And also...something else. A feeling he himself had caused in her so many times.

He decided to focus on that feeling. He brought forth the memory of the last time the girl had been with him. And he let it fill him...

..." _Does my princess want to float?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Say it, my mate. My queen. Say my name."_

" _I want you to make me float, Pennywise."_

 _Pennywise let out a soft growl. His eyes lit up with a bright white light._

 _A milky white glazed over her eyes and she slowly rose off the floor. She was ready._

 _As a test, he reached out and gently brushed his hand against her breast. She moaned. Pennywise smiled. It had worked. He had not fully put her under his deadlights. She was still In Between, but she would still be able to feel. That_ _was exactly how he wanted her, to have her completely_ u _nder his control, to have her just aware to feel the pleasure he would_ _give her and_ _that he would also take from her._

 _He pulled his cock free from his pantaloons and teased her entrance with it. Another moan. He slipped his tip into her and pulled it back out again. She groaned and stared grabbing for him like a blind person. He chuckled._

" _What do you want, my sweet?"_

Rachel gasped and jumped in her car seat. His voice. She had heard his voice.

" _Do you want me?"_

She glanced around frantically. Her heart started pounding. She didn't see him anywhere. Just more parked cars.

" _Do you want me, my princess? My queen?"_

"Penny..." Rachel breathed.

Suddenly she jackknifed upward. She felt a strong jolt pass through her core. A jolt of pleasure. Rachel gasped and automatically placed her right hand over her crotch. She felt it again. Her left hand shot out and hit the window. She moaned.

((((()))))

Pennywise saw himself pull back one of his sleeves. Saw one of his fingers on his other hand turn into a claw and cut his wrist. He saw the blood pool at the cut. He put the cut to her mouth and she drank hungrily.

((((()))))

The feeling of pleasure intensified. It was like Pennywise was fucking Rachel right in the car. She couldn't stand it. With shaky hands, she undid her shorts and plunged her hand inside. She moaned deeply when her fingers found her clit. She started rubbing it.

((((()))))

Pennywise felt her need intensify as if it was his own. He grit his teeth. The blood bond was working. In his mind he saw himself bite down into her shoulder as he fucked her. He tasted her sweet, yet tangy blood fill his mouth.

((((()))))

Rachel was getting close when she felt a deep pain in her shoulder and she hollered. But somehow it felt good. She closed her eyes and imagined Pennywise's long, sharp teeth biting down into her shoulder, drawing her blood. She could even almost taste his blood in her mouth.

That was enough. She came.

((((()))))

Pennywise opened his eyes, a dark, triumphant grin on his painted face. He couldn't wait to see her. Couldn't wait to cum inside her like he was sure she was doing right now. Next time the Turtle would not interfere. Next time would start the beginning of forever with his queen.

* * *

Rachel tried to catch her breath as she settled back into her seat. Her heart was beating erratically. Pennywise had done that to her. He had to have. Had he been thinking of her at the same time she was thinking of him? Was the link between the two of them that strong that he could affect her even over such a great distance? Had he done things to himself also while doing it?

Her hands were shaking as she inserted the key in the ignition. She needed to see him. Now.

Rachel didn't even bother to lock her car door when she pulled up at the house she now thought of as her true home. No one would bother to steal a car in front of the Neibolt house. And even if they did, she knew her mate would somehow find them. She ran up the path to the house and threw open the door. She didn't even bother to call for Pennywise. Somehow she knew he would be waiting for her.

She ran to the room where the entrance to Pennywise's lair was and stopped. Pennywise was standing next to a well. A well that had not been there before. He turned when she came in and for a brief moment Rachel remembered the night she had showed up for her and Roman's date. Her stomach did a flip flop.

Rachel smiled at the clown. "Hey."

Pennywise grinned his toothy grin at her. "So glad to see you up and about, my dear."

She sighed, her smile still on her face. "Me too. They uh, told me I was ready to leave. So I came here."

Pennywise tilted his head at her. "But you did not leave right away."

She shook her head as she walked towards him. "How? How did you do it? I could feel you as if you were right there with me."

Pennywise held out his hand to her and she took it. "I told you, my dear. You have imprinted on me. You and I are one." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

Rachel blushed and gently pulled her hand from his grasp. She stood at the well and put her hand on it. It felt very real, cool and rough.

"When me and Chris were coming up out of this yesterday, it wasn't here. But I still felt something. There was a...shimmering feeling where the well should have been. I don't think Chris felt it though. He didn't say anything.

"And he would not have. He is not like you and I." Pennywise placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"So is that part of the deal now? That I can feel your magic?"

"Yes it is, my swee-t."

Rachel thought about the little girl in the tower. If she and Pennywise were imprinted on each other, did he know? Would he be able to feel it?

Pennywise's hand was on her back now. He pressed his chest right up against her arm.

"Is there anything else you wish to ask?"

Rachel took a deep breath. She felt a cold feeling form in the pit of her stomach? What if she was pregnant? Would Pennywise reject her? Be angry at her? She needed to tell him.

"Pennywise, would you be able to feel if there was anything...inside of me?"

The clown started rubbing her back. "Like what, dearest?" His voice was low and expressionless.

"Like something else that would have come from you that is now...a part of me."

Pennywise brought his arm to where it was around her other shoulder. He gently turned her towards him. His eyes were light blue. Rachel had only seen them like that a couple of times.

Pennywise removed his hands from her and started taking off his gloves. Rachel narrowed her eyes at him in curiosity. He threw his gloves on the floor. She had never clearly seen his hands before. They were pale. Just like...

Her hands. He had her hands. Rachel put one of your own hands over her mouth.

Pennywise held out his bare hands, palm forward, to where they were even with Rachel's chest. "Do just like this."

She copied his movements. He placed his palms against hers. His hands were long and slender and they easily dwarfed hers.

"Close your eyes, kitten," he said.

She obeyed without hesitation. She could feel a tingling sensation against her hands. A thick, undulating force started right after. It had a shimmering sensation to it. It wasn't strong, but it was still palpable.

"Do you feel it?" Pennywise asked.

Her eyes still closed, she smiled. "Yes. What is that?"

"That is what I use to make glamour, part of my inner force. It is what you felt as you came up from the well."

Rachel nodded. Excitement started to course through her. "That is what I felt."

Pennywise removed his hands. He gently grabbed her right wrist and started to lower it. "Now feel this."

He placed her hand against her belly.

"Focusss."

Rachel closed her eyes tighter and tried to feel for what she just felt coming from Pennywise's hands. It took a few seconds, but…

She gasped. There was a faint tingling, shimmering sensation coming from inside her belly. It was so faint it was like a tiny speck. But she still felt it. Her chest tightened and she instantly felt tears start to well up in her eyes.

Pennywise's magic was inside her. It could only mean one thing.

She was carrying his child.

Rachel brought her hands up to cover her face and sunk to her knees. Intense sobs started to wrack her body. So many emotions flooded through her at once.

She couldn't afford to have a baby. That much she knew. There was no way she would be able to keep a job and take care of it at the same time. And what would she tell her mom? She had just told Sarah that she and Roman were together. How would she handle this? Rachel didn't even know if she herself could handle it.

She thought of the little girl she had seen in the tower, let her little face fill Rachel's inner vision.

Her daughter.

She had held out her hand to Rachel, asked her to take her home. Rachel needed to be there for her. And for Pennywise. She didn't even know what he was feeling right now. What was he thinking, seeing her on the floor in a tearful mess like this? She needed to pull it together. For his sake.

She removed her hands from in front of her vision. Pennywise was standing facing away from her. His head was down.

"I don't know if I can handle this," Rachel said in a weak voice.

"If you need to get rid of it, I will not stop you. Maybe it is for the best."

Rachel quickly got to her feet. "What? No. I don't want to kill it. This is our baby, Pennywise. I just…this is a lot for any woman to handle, much less someone in my situation. I have a lot of things to think about, to prepare for. I don't… I don't even know if I will be a good mother."

"You would be a great mother, Rachel. You care too much. More than any human deserves. It is me who would…I do not get along with children."

"But you would if it's our own, right?" Rachel said in a shaky voice.

Pennywise didn't say anything. He still wasn't looking at her.

"Penny?" She gently placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned towards her, his light blue eyes now yellow. "You wouldn't hurt our baby, would you?"

A fresh tear fell down her cheek. Pennywise reached out and brushed it away with the back of his fingers. His gaze fell on Rachel's stomach and then he got down into a crouch. He rested his forehead against her belly.

What he said next, Rachel barely heard, but it shocked her to the core.

"My wife and child."

Rachel felt her breath catch in her throat.

"W-what?"

"When you asked me what we were now, what we would be if I were human..."

Pennywise stood. He reached out and cupped Rachel's face in his large, ungloved hand.

"Rachel... you would be my wife."

With all the words Pennywise had used to describe their relationship: mated, imprinted, somehow the word wife hit home the most with her.

She and Pennywise were married. Maybe not technically, but still. Somehow Rachel imagined the powers that be still recognized their bond.

"Ohh," she said.

Rachel felt herself start to get lightheaded. She was Pennywise's wife. Without any engagement involved. She started laughing.

Pennywise scowled. "Our being married is funny?"

Rachel shook her head. "That's not why I'm laughing. With everything we've been through, the one thing I'm upset about all of a sudden is that we were never engaged. You are an otherworldly being. I am carrying your child. And I'm concerned that I was never engaged to you."

She started laughing even harder. She almost couldn't breathe. Tears started streaming down her face. Rachel was pregnant. She and Pennywise were married. It was like the shock to her system had finally wore off. All that was left was the irony of the situation. And joy. Rachel actually felt joy. Finally she had something, someone that she could call her own, no matter how odd it all seemed.

Finally her laughter subsided. She glanced up at Pennywise. He was looking at her with a confused, worried look on his face. Somehow it was one of the most endearing things Rachel had ever seen.

"I so do not know what I would do without you." Rachel grabbed his hand. Just feeling his skin, his pale, human skin, made her eyes tear up again. "You and I are so different in so many ways. But there is only one way that matters where we are the same. In our love and devotion to each other."

She glanced up at him. His eyes were light blue again. "I would be honored to be your wife, Pennywise. Maybe one day, I don't know how though, we can make it official." She grabbed his hand and gently started pulling him. "But for now, as your unofficial wife, there is something I would like you to share with me."

Rachel pulled him into the room where the mattress was. She let go of his hand and turned to face him. "I want you to make love to me. Right now. Right here in this room. I want you to fuck me as if the world is about to end." She glanced down at his bulge and then back up to his face.

"And I don't want you to hold back."

She pulled her shirt up over her head and threw it aside. "You and I are otherworldly beings." She unzipped her shorts and pulled them down. "And now we're going to fuck like it."

Pennywise's chest was heaving. He stared Rachel up and down. His eyes turned from blue to yellow. When he smiled, his buck teeth were pointed.

"So what do you say?" Rachel undid her bra and pulled it off. She threw it aside.

"I say you should have learned to be careful what you wish for."

Pennywise pulled at the fabric of his chest and started ripping his costume from his body. Rachel felt like she was watching an animal. Or a monster. Or an otherworldly being about to have wild, unbridled sex with his mate.

When he was finished, Pennywise stood before her. His body was lean and pale, with just a slight pinkish tint to it. Very human. Accept for one thing. Between his legs, where his penis should be, was a large tentacle. Four smaller tentacles surrounded it.

All Rachel could do was stare. "Ohh my…" she breathed. Her hand instantly went to her mound. She swallowed. He wanted to put that inside her? And the even scarier part was, she wanted him to.

"This is for you, my dear," Pennywise said as he walked towards her. She quickly discarded what little left she had on. He kept advancing on her. Rachel backed up until her feet hit the mattress. She scrambled onto it. Before she could even finish spreading her legs, Pennywise was at her. She could feel the tentacle poking at her entrance.

Drool dripped from Pennywise's mouth. "Are you ready, my dear? This is what you asked for."

She nodded her head eagerly. "Yes. Take me. Please."

Pennywise thrusted into her. A strangled moan escaped Rachel's throat as the tentacle penis slid its way up inside her. She grabbed Pennywise's shoulders as he thrusted into her again.

Pennywise started mating with her. It was like when she was floating, only better as Rachel could both see and feel him. She spread her arms out and at the same moment, two other tentacles shot out and wrapped around her wrists and pinned them down. She didn't notice where they came from. She didn't care.

Rachel somehow managed to slide her legs up around Pennywise's waist. His skin was so smooth. The feeling of her bare flesh against his, combined with that wiggling, thick tentacle inside her was enough to undo her. When her orgasm hit, she screamed. Over and over.

Just hearing her cries of pleasure that he was causing was enough to send Pennywise over the edge too. His yellow eyes literally rolled back into his head and his mouth opened, far wider than any human mouth could, revealing row upon row of sharp teeth.

Rachel didn't even flinch as she came down from her climax and saw him like that. It was what she'd come to expect and finally accept.

Pennywise was a monster. And he was fucking her like the monster he was.

Rachel laid on the mattress, utterly spent, and let him finish. Finally he pulled out of her.

She turned on her side, facing away from Pennywise and closed her eyes, a content smile on her face. She felt him climb on the mattress and lay down beside her, pulling her against him. She felt his penis press against her bare backside, his human one. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"That was beyond amazing," Rachel said as she entwined her arms with his. She sighed. "Thank you."

"You are my life, kitten. You and our little one."

Rachel turned in his arms to face him. She reached up and started rubbing his bottom lip. "I've been wanting to talk to you about that. Our baby...it's a girl."

Pennywise's whole face lit up. So Rachel told him the part about where she saw the girl in the tower, her and Pennywise's daughter.

He hung on her every word. And when Rachel was finished, he moved farther down on the mattress and rested his head against her belly.

And started purring.


	19. Chapter 19

_***** This chapter contains language and mild sex*****_

The smell of grilled chicken hit Rachel's nose and she inhaled, a smile on her face. It had been so long since she had actually cooked in her house. It was a simple meal, chicken and broccoli fettuccine. But still. Even the sound of the chicken sizzling in the pan reminded her that she was home.

Her stomach growled and her smile deepened. She could still see Pennywise's head jolt upward from its resting place on her stomach when it had growled after they had mated that morning.

Rachel had giggled. "Well at least we know my stomach's feeling well enough again for me to feel hunger," she had told him as she stroked the clown's orange puff of hair.

Pennywise had sat up quickly. "My kitten needs to feed?"

Rachel put her hand on her stomach. "Yeah. I guess I'd better. I am eating for two now. And it would be nice to be home for a little bit."

Pennywise gave a firm nod. "Then you will go to your house. We do not want you to go hungry. No we do not."

Rachel had smiled at him. He could be so cute when he would get excited.

She took her spatula and put her chicken breasts onto a plate. Her life was complete now. She and Pennywise had never been closer. And though she was so not ready to be a mom, Rachel still had plenty of time to get used to the idea.

She started cutting up her chicken when she heard a knock on the door. She went to answer it and instantly scowled as soon as she pulled the door open. Chris was standing on her porch.

"You're awfully brave to be coming around here, you know that?" Rachel said in a monotone voice.

"Yeah, I uh…figured that."

An awkward silence fell between them.

"Is he…around?" Chris asked. Rachel could hear a bit of apprehension in his voice.

"Not at the moment. But he can show up at any time."

"And you're okay with that?"

Chris's abrupt tone threw Rachel off guard. "Of course I'm okay with that. Why wouldn't I be?" He opened his mouth. "Look, just don't answer that, alright," she said quickly. "Why are you here anyway?"

Chris's eyebrows were knit so tight, they had a crease between them. "I came to see how you were. I was driving by and saw your car. I didn't realize it was a crime to check up on you."

Rachel sighed deeply. She really wasn't up for Chris's company right now and knew Pennywise would have a fit if he found out, but she let him in anyway.

"Something smells good," he said when he got inside.

"Yeah it's uh…chicken fettucine." Rachel went and checked on her noodles. They were almost done.

"I bet it's gonna be good."

Rachel grabbed her knife and got back to cutting up the chicken. "I hope so. I haven't had a decent meal since…" She paused. Now that she thought about it, today was the first time she actually ate since her and Roman's date. That had been night before last.

"That long, huh?" Chris said behind her.

"It's been a couple of days. Me and Roman went on a date. This morning was the first time I've eaten since then."

Rachel put down the knife and turned to face Chris. His face had softened a bit.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. What you went through yesterday."

Rachel nodded. "Yeah it was…a bit of a shock to me too. I still can't believe he would have…done that without my permission."

Chris walked closer to her. "Would you have let him?"

Rachel felt a spot of anger flare up in her. It really was none of Chris's business, but she decided to humor him. "Maybe not the biting part."

Chris gave a curt nod. "I see. So this is what you are now? This is what you want?"

That was the last straw. "What I _am_? What I am is a woman who's just trying to live her life. What I am is sick and tired of having to justify myself to people. We are not hurting anyone, Chris."

"Oh and it's okay if he hurts you?"

Rachel was fuming now. She actually wanted to punch him. "I think this conversation is over. Please leave my house." She abruptly turned her back on him and went back to cutting her chicken.

"You can't even see it can you? What he's done to you? Have you even looked in the mirror lately? Your eyes? Your pale skin? Does that count as human where your demented boyfriend comes from?"

Rachel started chopping harder. She was almost shaking now. "Chris, I am warning you."

"Just why do you keep defending him, huh?" As Chris spoke, he closed in the distance between them. "What the hell has he done to you to make you turn your back on-"

He reached out and grabbed Rachel's forearm and startled her. She jumped and turned at the same time and dropped her knife. Chris cried out and pulled his hand back.

"Why in the hell did you do that? I could have hurt you?" Rachel hollered.

Chris was looking at his hand. Rachel glanced down at it also. She put her hand over her mouth and stared at him in horror. Blood started to well up on two of his knuckles.

"I am so sorry," she breathed.

Chris stared up at her with a look of shock on his face. "You cut me."

"But you shouldn't have grabbed me. I didn't do it on purpose," Rachel said in a quavering voice.

Chris held up his other hand in a calm down gesture. "Don't worry about it. Just, like, grab me some napkins or something."

Rachel grabbed him some paper towels off the roll and handed them to him. As soon as he placed it over his fingers, Rachel took a deep intake of breath.

Chris glanced up at her. "You alright, or you don't like blood?"

She let her breath out again. It was just the opposite actually. She had been upset when he had gotten rid of the blood, and that was what scared her.

"I'm not a fan of it, no," she lied in a shaky voice.

Chris removed the paper towel. Right away, blood started to well up at the cuts again. Rachel stared intensely at his fingers as a thirst came upon her. A thirst for something only monsters, like vampires, were known to have. She licked her lips.

Chris glanced up at her again and did a double take. "Rachel?"

She still stared at his fingers. She had to grit her teeth, the urge to put his fingers in her mouth now becoming almost unbearable.

"Jesus Christ. Your eyes," Chris muttered as a look of horror came upon his face. "You have his eyes," he said more loudly.

That caught Rachel's attention. She tore her eyes away from his hand. "What?"

"Jesus…he said you got off on this. I didn't want to believe him. But look at you. It's like you're fighting yourself. Your eyes don't even look human anymore. Do you want this?"

Chris brought his hand closer to Rachel and she jumped. She glanced back and forth from him to his fingers. Did he really want her to drink his blood? She bit her bottom lip.

He advanced closer. "Here, just…just lick it off."

Rachel was shaking now. Her chest hurt so tight, she almost couldn't breathe. She shook her head. "Why are you doing this?" she said in a strained voice.

"Because I'm trying to understand you, Rachel. I'm trying to understand how you can do all the things that you do with him and then look at _me_ like I'm the one there's something wrong with."

"Chris, you are trying to get me to lick your _blood_! You're the one that's supposed to be human."

"And is that what you want? You would rather fuck some _monster_ than have a good, decent life with someone who's a good person? Someone who's human? I mean, hell, you're not even acting human right now, Rachel."

"Well then apparently, I'm not," she said in a sardonic voice. "Now will you please just leave my house?"

Chris shook his head. "You go ahead. Let your monster boyfriend come in here. Let him screw your brains out, or whatever it is he does for you, because I can guarantee you…" He jabbed his finger towards her. Rachel could see a muscle twitch in his jaw. "I can guarantee you, he will hurt you. And I will be _damned_ if I'm gonna stand by and watch."

Chris stalked out of the kitchen. He slammed the front door behind him. Rachel stood there in shock for a moment. Chris had wanted her to drink his blood, had almost tried to force her to do it, from what it had seemed. She didn't know what scared her more, that or the fact that she had actually wanted to. No, she had had a craving to.

Her chest started heaving and her breath quickened. Shaky sobs started to escape her throat and she slowly sank to the floor as the tears started coming. Chris had no right to come in her house and make her feel uncomfortable like he did. She needed Roman. Or Pennywise. Rachel closed her eyes and called out to him with all her mind and soul.

She waited. And the tears continued to fall.

A few minutes later, Rachel felt hands on her forearms and picked her head up. Roman was crouching in front of her.

"What happened?"

"You came." She threw her arms around him.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Of course I came. I felt you so strongly. I didn't know what was wrong. I didn't know if it was you or the baby, or what."

"Chris was here."

Roman pulled away and grabbed her shoulders. "What? When did this happen?"

Rachel sniffled. Fresh tears were falling now. "Not long before you got here."

"Why didn't you call me?"

Rachel could hear the anger in Roman's voice, but she didn't know if it was aimed at her or Chris or both.

"I didn't think there was going to be a problem."

"Did he touch you? You know I will kill him if he touched you."

Rachel shook her head. "I hurt him. By accident. He came up behind me and grabbed my arm. I accidentally cut him.

Roman ran his hand along his head. "He grabbed you. He fucking grabbed you." He stood up.

Rachel quickly got to her feet. "He didn't hurt me though," she said.

"It doesn't matter, Rachel. He put his fucking hands on you. That right there is enough."

"Roman, please. I need you to listen to me."

The desperation in her voice caught his attention. So she continued.

"His hand got cut and started bleeding. And then I wanted…I wanted…" She couldn't even finish.

"You wanted his blood," Roman said dolefully.

Rachel nodded her head.

Roman sighed. "I was afraid of that."

"He wanted me to drink it."

She had spoken so quietly, she was almost surprised that Roman had heard her. But he had. Roman's expression changed. His features grew hard.

"What?"

"Chris wanted me to drink his blood. H-he almost pushed his hand into my face."

Roman turned his back and leaned on the kitchen table. "He needs to die, Rachel."

Rachel's mouth fell open in horror. "What? No. Why would you say that?"

"Because he's trying to take what's mine. I told him about our blood exchange."

"I know you did. But what do you mean, he trying to take what's yours? Chris doesn't want me."

Roman turned around. "Yes he does, Rachel. I told him you enjoyed it. A lot. That's what he wanted. He wanted you to drink from him so that he could watch you. Watch your reaction."

Rachel shook her head. "No. He said he wanted to understand me, to understand why I wanted it."

Roman shook his head slowly and put his hands on her shoulders. "He wanted to see you come undone. To see the pleasure you would get from it."

Rachel stared at Roman aghast. "He wanted it to be a sexual thing."

Roman nodded. "I'm afraid so, kitten."

Rachel started crying again. Why would Chris use her like that? She started shaking her head again. "I don't understand. He's not supposed to want to see me like that. He knows that we're together."

Roman squeezed her shoulder. "I know. But I don't think he cares anymore. That's not a good thing. Not for him, at least."

"But what the hell, Roman? I mean, I know you made me drink your blood, but this is Chris we're talking about. He's supposed to be a good, normal human."

"Well gee, thanks," Roman said in a sarcastic tone as he rubbed her shoulder. He started opening and closing drawers.

Rachel sniffled and wiped her nose on her arm. "What are you doing?"

"I hate seeing you like this."

He glanced up and found the knife block. He pulled one out. Rachel's eyes grew big as she realized what he was doing. She put her hand out to stop him, but it was too late. He made a shallow slice in his wrist. Blood started welling up from it instantly.

Roman held it out to her. "Here. Before it starts dripping on the floor."

Rachel jumped back. "What?"

"I am _not_ going to stand back and watch you suffer. Drink this. Please."

Rachel gave Roman an apprehensive look. Even though she knew he was still Pennywise, and that she had done this with him before, it still gave her a strange feeling inside. This is what she was now. She drank blood. She was fucking a monster who drank blood and who was now standing before her, freely offering his blood for her to drink. If he were in Pennywise form, she wouldn't have given it a second thought.

So she didn't give it a third. She bent down and at the same time, Roman brought his wrist up more to her level. Rachel put her tongue to the blood that had already dripped and licked it all the way up to the cut. When her mouth touched it, she latched on with her lips and started sucking.

Roman's mouth fell open and he closed his eyes. "Yes, kitten. Drink from daddy."

His blood tasted just like Rachel remembered it. Sweet and tangy. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. A feeling of warmth spread down her throat and into her chest. Her body started to feel like liquid, totally pliable and fluid. She let out a deep moan. Her legs started to shake. She needed stability or she was sure she would melt onto the floor.

She started backing up towards the table, taking Roman's wrist with her. She felt her back hit the table and she scooted backwards onto it. She started to recline. She could have choked on Roman's blood and she wouldn't have cared. As if Roman was reading her mind, he pulled his wrist away. His blood coated her lips.

"Not too much now. You might get addicted." Roman sounded a bit out of breath.

Rachel's chest was heaving. "Can't be any worse than how addicted I am to you."

Roman smirked at her as he unzipped her shorts. "You might be surprised."

She smiled up at him. "What are you doing?"

He pulled and pulled until her shorts came off. "Oh I just figured, you know, since we're both here, and we're both horny..." Her underwear came next. "We just as soon make the best of it." He linked his arms around her legs and pulled her to the edge of the table.

Her grin widened, her heart now pounding in anticipation. "I've never been tongue fucked on my table before."

Roman bent his knees and started to get into a crouch. "And I aim to please. And _that_ is exactly how I am going to please you right now."

Rachel laid down. The table creaked a bit. She felt Roman's lips on the inside of her upper thigh as he planted a gentle kiss there. He kissed her higher up, right next to your apex. Then a third kiss, right on her mound. Then his tongue came out and lapped at her. Her thighs tensed up. He did it again. Her fingers automatically went to his hair. He nestled his tongue between her folds and ran it up and down. Rachel let out a moan of pleasure, all thoughts of Chris now gone from her mind. This was where she belonged now, with who she belonged.

Roman stuck his tongue in her and she pulled at his hair and arched her back. His tongue wasn't near as long as Pennywise's, but then again, he was just getting started.

* * *

Chris sped down the street towards the Denbroughs'. The way she had stared at his bloody knuckles. And then when her eyes started changing yellow. Chris shook his head in disgust. Whatever Pennywise had done to her, Rachel was not the same girl Chris used to know, that much he was certain of. And yet way in the back of his mind, a small part of Chris wanted to know what it would have been like to just once see things from the clown's perspective. Would she have licked his knuckles first, like a cat? Or would she have just latched on and started sucking? Would she have closed her eyes as little moans escaped her lips?

Chris tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He was actually starting to get hard.

"Shit."

He blew out a breath. What in the hell was wrong with him? He tightened his grip even more until his knuckles turned white. He blamed the clown. He was the one who had put those images in Chris's head. Was he at her house right now, doing those kinds of things to her? Would he have been going them as Roman or as the clown?

"Shit," Chris said again. He almost had to slam on his breaks as he had almost missed the Denbrough house.

He parked his truck and went knock on the front door. Aunt Susan answered. She gave Chris a friendly smile.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Yes ma'am. Are you Susan Denbrough?"

"I sure am. What can I do for you?"

"My name is Chris Sheffield. I'm a friend of Rachel's. Listen, is Bill around? I need to talk to him."

Her smiled broadened. "Oh yes. Yes. I remember you. You were the prince in Y/N's play. I was so sorry to hear about your accident."

Chris shifted nervously on his feet.

"Thank you."

"I'll get Bill right away."

She went back in the house. A few minutes later, Bill came to the door. Richie was with him.

"Can I h-help you?" Bill said.

"Actually, you can," said Chris. "I need your help badly. And so does your cousin."

* * *

"I cannot believe we're going to fucking fight him," Richie said as he and Bill rode towards Rachel's house.

"We have to, Richie. He's just going to hurt her w-worse. And think about all those p-poor kids. Think about Georgie. What if he's n-next?"

He and Richie pulled up their bikes at Rachel's house.

"True. But she turned us away twice. You really think she's not gonna do it again?"

The boys climbed off their bikes and made their way up the short concrete walk to Rachel's front door.

"Well then we make her listen," Bill said as they climbed the porch. He was about to knock on the door when he heard a shout come from within. He paused with his fist midway to the door. He and Richie glanced worryingly at each other. They heard another loud shout.

"Holy shit, he's got her!" Richie exclaimed.

Richie wrenched open the door and he and Bill bolted inside. The kitchen was directly to the right and what they saw made them both freeze. Both of the boys' mouths dropped and a total look of shock and disgust came over them.

Rachel was laying on her back on the kitchen table, screaming. Pennywise stood over her and from what Bill saw, the clown wasn't trying to kill her— he was having sex with her. She was bare from the waist down. Her legs were spread wide open and Pennywise was pounding into her. Bill could have sworn he saw tentacles wrapped around Rachel's thighs.

Bill couldn't tear his eyes away. His cousin was having an orgasm right in front of him, an orgasm that Pennywise was giving her. Bill felt like he was going to throw up.

"Holy fuck!" Richie exclaimed loudly.

Pennywise's head came up. Rachel's head came backwards. She was still writhing on the table as she stared at the boys in horror.

"Bill…"

((((()))))

Rachel screamed and screamed as one of the most intense orgasms she had ever had shot through her body. She was almost done when she heard something.

"Holy fuck!"

Her eyes flew open. Pennywise's head shot up at the sound of the voice. Rachel leaned her head back. Even upside down, there was no mistaking them.

"Bill…"

Shaking and quivering, she turned sideways as well as she could considering she was still impaled on Pennywise's cock.

"Bill!"

The look of horror and disgust on her cousin's face was enough to make her stomach churn.

"Don't mind us, you're doing a great job. We'll just be going," Richie said loudly as he pointed towards the front door. He grabbed Bill by the arm and started pulling him. Bill gave Rachel one last mournful look and followed his best friend.

"Well that was interesting," Pennywise said. His mouth was turned up in a wide, shit eating grin.

Rachel seriously felt like she was going to throw up. All she could see was the look on Bill and Richie's faces. The boys were probably outside puking their guts out.

"Get off."

Pennywise just stood there, his attention now turned to her.

"Get off. Get off!" She pushed Pennywise in the chest. He pulled out of her. Rachel slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing. When she opened them, Pennywise was standing there watching her, a look of concern on his face. Even his tentacles were drooping. Rachel wasn't even mad at him. Why should she have been?

But she was still seething now. There was only one person responsible for this. Chris Sheffield had interfered long enough.

"Hey, baby? How would you feel about paying Chris another visit?"

Pennywise's mouth turned upward.

"And this time...you won't be going alone."

"Spoken like my true mate and queen," Pennywise crooned.

Rachel gave him her own diabolical grin. "Yes. Yes I am."

Her eyes flashed yellow.


	20. Chapter 20

"I can't believe they saw us like that."

"Kitten, please stop blaming yourself."

Roman's cheek was smashed up against Rachel's temple and hers was against her pillow, so both of their voices came out muffled. She and Roman were laying in her bed in the dark. It was hard to believe that just hours before the two of them had been sharing intimacies in her kitchen when her world had come crashing down.

"People without children should be able to have sex in their home without worrying about other people's children walking in on them."

Roman lifted his head. "There. You see? Not your fault. Now please stop worrying." He pushed on her shoulder and got her to lay on her back so that she could see his face. "Please. You just got out the hospital. I don't need you worrying yourself sick about something that you have no control over. Especially something that was not your fault."

"He really needs to go, Roman. I don't mean something bad needs to happen to him, I just want him out of our lives." Rachel rubbed Roman's arm.

He brushed her hair off her temple. "I know, kitten. We're gonna take care of that. I promise."

Rachel rolled over on her side, her back up against his chest. Roman put his arms around her and held her close. "Please try to get some sleep," he said against her ear.

"I will." Rachel nestled into her pillow and closed her eyes.

(((((())))))

Roman sat up with a jolt. Fear. Lots of Fear. That's what he felt. Next to him, his mate squirmed and moaned as though caught up into a nightmare. He put a hand on her shoulder. It felt cool to the touch. Roman froze. She should not have felt like that. He shook her gently. Called her name. She didn't respond. If she was caught in a nightmare, it was one that Roman would not be able to free her from.

Not until the Turtle was ready for her to leave it.

"No. No! Don't you fucking do this to her!" Roman hollered. He started shaking her.

"Rachel! Rachel, wake up!"

The last time something like this had happened to her, even the doctors at the hospital had trouble getting her to respond.

He brushed her hair back from her temple. "Hold on, baby. You can fight this. You're strong, you can fight it."

She started whimpering. Several seconds later, the screaming started.

(((((())))))

 _Rachel took the bottle of formula out of the microwave. This was the second kind of formula she had had to try. The pediatrician had told her that Eleanor was just colicky, but Rachel knew otherwise. Eleanor was the daughter of Pennywise after all. Rachel shook the bottle up and put a couple of drops on her wrist. Just right. She took off down the hall towards her infant daughter's room._

" _Elie-bell, I sure hope you like this new formula. Next is the more expensive stuff," Rachel called out even though she knew Eleanor couldn't answer her. Her baby was going to be gifted, but not that gifted._

 _Suddenly the hallway stretched out in front of Rachel. She stopped. Eleanor started crying loudly. Rachel started walking down the hall. It stretched longer._

" _What the…"_

 _Eleanor started wailing. Rachel ran. The hallway stretched some more and she ran faster, her heart pounding now. Finally she got to the baby's room. Rachel threw open the door._

 _Eleanor wasn't wailing anymore. Pennywise was standing in front of her crib. The room was dark, but the corner of the room where the crib was was lit up with a sickly orange light. Pennywise turned. His mouth and chin were covered in blood. Blood was splattered on the front of his costume as well._

" _Such a tasty treat you've given me, kitten. Maybe we can work on you giving me another one."_

 _A sick feeling filled Rachel's stomach. "What…?" She glanced at the crib. There were blood splatters near the top of it. "No."_

 _Pennywise started laughing maniacally._

 _Rachel started panicking. There was no way this was happening. Pennywise had killed his baby, Rachel's baby. And from the looks of it, he had done more than that._

" _No. No." Rachel started wailing. "Noooooo!"_

The scream was ripped from her throat before she could even wake up. Rachel quickly sat up in bed, still screaming. "NO! NO!" Her screams turned to wailing and she covered her face with her hands. "Noooo!"

Roman put his hand on her arm. "Rachel, what happened? Please tell me what's wrong."

Rachel removed her hands. Tears of despair and hysteria streamed down her face. "You ate our baby! You. Ate. Our. BABY!"

(((((())))))

Roman slowly pulled his hand away. She knew. His wife, the only human he actually gave a damn about, knew his darkest secret. And there was no turning back. He climbed out of bed, his eyes never leaving her. She rocked back and forth, her head bent forward, hands on her temples. She wailed like a banshee. Roman didn't know what to do. But he at least knew he couldn't stand to see her like this.

He went to the little night stand that the phone was sitting on. There was an address book sitting on the bottom shelf. He grabbed it and started rifling through the pages. She had to have the phone numbers to her family somewhere. He found the Denbroughs' number. He probably should have called her mother, but he knew that her Aunt and uncle lived closer. He picked up the phone and dialed the number. He glanced behind him. Rachel was sitting with her knees drawn up and her hands and chin resting on them. Her eyes were wide and staring at nothing and she still sobbed loudly.

The phone rang a few times, then a sleepy female voice came over the phone. "Hello?"

"Susan, it's Roman. I'm with Rachel right now. I don't know what happened, but she just woke up. She's screaming and crying and I don't know what to do. She won't calm down."

"Oh no. I'll be there as soon as I can. Try talking to her until I get there."

"I'll see what I can do. Thank you." Roman hung up the phone. He went around the bed to her side.

"Rachel. What's wrong? Talk to me, please. I know you saw something and apparently it's scaring the hell out of you." He placed one of his large hands over hers. She pulled away.

The fear. It burned like acid in his mouth.

He could almost see it palpable in front of him, a dark, grayish mist threatening to surround and devour Rachel. Anger started to course through Roman's human veins.

There was only room for one monster in his beloved's life.

"I cannot help you if I do not understand." He spoke to her gently and made no attempt to touch her again. "I know you're scared and I know it has something to do with Pennywise. But this is me you are talking to. Roman. Your husband who has always been here for you every time, no matter what."

Her crying subsided a bit. Roman breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was...fixing some formula for Eleanor." Her beautiful voice was quivering.

"Eleanor?"

Rachel nodded.

A smile played at Roman's lips at the sound of his daughter's name. "That's beautiful."

"I was going to her room and... she started crying...and screaming." Fresh tears fell down Rachel's face.

"I opened the door. Pennywise was in there. He was by her crib." She was talking faster and louder now. "He turned around and he had blood all over him." She put her face in her hands and bawled. "Tell me you're not gonna hurt our baby."

If Pennywise had been capable of feeling the depth of any true human emotion, the heart that was beating in his chest as part of the human guise he wore would have broken. He climbed in bed and pulled his beloved against him. To both his surprise and relief, she let him.

(((((())))))

Rachel buried her face against Roman's chest and poured her heart out through her tears. For the first time in the past two months, she was truly afraid. Afraid for her and Pennywise's future, and for the unborn child growing inside her. She didn't know if the dream she'd had had been just a dream born from her fears or if it had been a premonition.

She was so scared, her stomach was starting to hurt. In fact it was really starting to hurt.

"Ow." Rachel pulled away from Roman and placed her hand on her belly.

"What's wrong?"

She didn't answer him, but instead rubbed her stomach. A deep sudden pain made her hunch over.

"Ow, ow, ow."

"Baby, what's wrong? Are you hurting?" Roman asked in an urgent voice.

"My stomach. It hurts bad."

Roman started rubbing her back. "Hold on. We're gonna get help soon."

A door slammed. "Rachel?" a voice called out.

"In here," Roman hollered.

Rachel shot Roman a confused look. "You called someone?"

"Yes."

Aunt Susan came in. "Rachel? Oh, honey, what's wrong?"

Just seeing her aunt made her start crying all over again. "I had a nightmare and I woke up. And now my stomach hurts really bad."

She knew how childish she sounded, but right now she didn't care. The last few days had been very emotional for her and she had finally reached her breaking point.

Susan sat on the bed. "Oh no. Do you think it was something you ate?"

"No." Rachel's stomach was starting to cramp from the insistent pain.

"Have you been under a lot of stress?"

"Somewhat." She blew a breath out through her mouth. _If only you knew,_ she thought.

"Maybe we should get her to the hospital," Roman insisted.

Rachel starting to feel weak and lightheaded. She started to lean forward.

"Rachel?" Susan put her hand on Rachel's arm.

Rachel didn't answer her. She didn't have the strength to.

"I'm going to take her to the hospital. Roman, do you think you can carry her?"

Susan picked up her purse, which she had placed next to Rachel on the bed. Roman came around to Rachel's side of the bed. He pulled back the covers and put his arms under her legs and behind her back. Rachel let out a whimpering moan when he lifted her. The pain was so bad all she could do was focus on breathing.

"I got you, kitten," he whispered in her ear. "I won't let go."

She leaned her head against his chest. As much as she loved Roman and as shaken as she still were from her vivid, disturbing nightmare, she missed Pennywise. Fresh tears started to leak down her cheeks.

(((((())))))

He had only held her once before. Her body had been broken then. Now it was her spirit. Her fear was so strong it was almost choking him. It took all Roman had not to go full clown and teleport her to his lair right there, but he fought it. He fought it for her and for their unborn daughter that was now struggling for life inside of his mate's belly.

They made it out of the house after Susan grabbed Rachel's keys and locked up.

Roman slowed as Susan went around to the driver's side to unlock the doors. He bent to Rachel's ear.

"I know you're hurting. I know you're scared. I can feel it. But someone else can too. You need to be strong. For Eleanor. You need to talk to her, Rachel."

"How..." Rachel whimpered.

"Just talk to her. Please. In your mind. See her like you did in the tower."

Susan unlocked the doors.

"Just talk to her."

Roman hurried around and Susan opened the back door so that he could put Rachel in. Roman climbed in next to her. She was still whimpering, but at least the hard crying had died down. He wanted so badly to put her to sleep, but he wanted her to be awake to talk to the doctor. He put his arm around her and held her close all the way to the hospital.

* * *

Rachel couldn't believe she was back in the hospital again... on the same day she'd left. She had finally managed to get her stomach under control, although some nausea still lingered. It had not been a fun trip. Right after they had gotten to the emergency room, Rachel had thrown up. Luckily Roman has set her down in time, but she felt sorry for the poor janitors.

She laid in bed with her eyes closed and rubbed her stomach. Roman sat in a chair next to the bed and Susan sat on the little couch. Rachel wanted so badly to tell her about Eleanor— that was what she had decided to call her unborn daughter— but didn't want to stress her aunt out. And she still was not ready for her mom to know yet.

She was just about to doze off when the door open. A tall, broad shouldered man in scrubs and a white overcoat with salt and pepper hair came in. He smiled at Rachel and she gave him a weak smile in return.

"Good evening. I'm Dr. Gabaldon."

Aunt Susan stood and shook his hand. Rachel closed her eyes and let herself relax.

(((((())))))

Roman watched Rachel's eyes close and sighed in relief. At least she was at peace now. Susan was explaining to the doctor about Rachel's pain. Then Roman took over and told him everything from the beginning, about Rachel's bout of hysteria and how her stomach had started hurting shortly after. The doctor set down his clipboard and went over to her.

"I think she's asleep," said Roman.

The doctor started pressing on her abdomen. Roman's jaw clenched. He knew the doctor was just trying to examine her, but Roman still couldn't help feeling protective of his wife and mate.

"I don't feel anything suspicious," Dr. Gabaldon said after a minute of poking and prodding. "Now before I continue, are any of you aware of her condition?" He picked up his clipboard and started writing something down.

"Her condition?" Susan asked in a concerned voice.

Dr. Gabaldon turned around. "Her pregnancy."

(((((())))))

Rachel's eyes flew open. She really was pregnant. She didn't know why she was in shock. Pennywise had helped her confirm it, but hearing it out of a doctor's mouth, a man of medicine and science, made it more real than anything.

"Pregnancy?" Aunt Susan turned towards Rachel, her mouth hanging open. "Honey, you didn't tell me you were pregnant."

Rachel felt a tear slip down her cheek. The clown was out of the sewer now. Now her mom would know. And Bill. What would he think of her?

"We just found out this morning," Roman said. "I think she's still in shock."

Rachel brought a hand up to her temple. "I didn't want anyone to know yet." She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Are you still in pain?" Dr. Gabaldon asked.

She shook her head. She actually wasn't in pain anymore, and it was freaking her out. If Eleanor really was that strong this early on, when she was just a couple weeks conceived, that meant she took more after her father—she was whatever kind of being he was.

Rachel had an alien growing inside her.


	21. Chapter 21

_*****rated for sex*****_

Rachel woke to the sound of a shutting door. Roman was standing next to her bed. She was still in the hospital.

"You're awake. Good." He bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "You need to eat. They brought your breakfast." He lifted the lid off the bowl on her breakfast tray, revealing some hot, steaming oatmeal.

"Ugh. I don't know how you humans can eat this stuff." Roman dipped his pinky in it and licked it off.

"It's alright. Not one of my favorites though," Rachel said. She closed her eyes. She so could have fallen back to sleep.

She felt Roman shaking her arm. "Hey. Time to wake up, princess. You can sleep later."

"I don't want to wake up," Rachel said in a groggy voice.

Roman leaned over her. "If you don't sit up, I'm going to get Pennywise in here and make you."

Her eyes still closed, she smiled.

Roman chuckled. "Knew that would get your attention. Come on. Wake up. Eat."

Rachel opened her eyes. "Since when did you get so bossy?" She begrudgingly sat up.

Roman pushed the arm on the bed that held her tray until it was over her lap. "Since my pregnant wife ended up back in the hospital."

"You need to be careful with that," Rachel said. "Having people knowing that I'm pregnant is one thing, but if they think we're really married, they're going to start asking questions."

Roman gave a nod. "Yes ma'am. And thank you for not telling your aunt anything."

Rachel grunted. "She asked me if I was under a lot of stress. Can you imagine? 'Oh not much, Aunt Susan. I just found out this morning that I'm pregnant for my boyfriend who's actually my husband now and from another galaxy, your son saw us fucking in my kitchen, a giant turtle wants to recruit me to fight in some otherworldly battle. Oh, and I think I'm turning into a vampire. So how has your week been?'"

Roman laughed. "First off, you don't have to do anything Maturin wants you to do. And secondly…" he tilted his head towards you. "A vampire? Really?"

Rachel shrugged. "I drink blood now. What else would you call me?" She took a bite of her oatmeal.

"I would call you an extraordinary woman who has imprinted on a super extraordinary otherworldly being who would be what humans call an alien. You are _not_ a vampire."

Rachel set her spoon down. "So our daughter is an alien. That's why she's so powerful so early on."

Roman sat on the edge of the bed. "Our daughter is a very powerful empath apparently. You see, you've imprinted on me. You have some of my magic inside of you. And so does she."

"But she's, what, a couple of weeks conceived?" Rachel waved her hand. "She is nothing but an embryo right now. How in the hell can she have that kind of power, Roman?"

Roman rubbed her leg. "Hey, hey. Try not to get upset. I admit this baffles me as well, and if I'm going to be honest…worries me a bit."

Finally Rachel asked one of the many questions that had been plaguing her mind all night. "Is she a danger to me?"

Roman grabbed her hand and held it. The worried look on his face made her heart drop. A knock came at the door.

Dr. Carter came in. She gave them both a pretty smile. "Hi. Good morning."

"Mornin'," Roman mumbled.

Rachel just smiled at her.

Dr. Carter approached Rachel's bed. "And how are we today? I see you're back again."

"Yes ma'am," Rachel said softly.

"Aww. They said you were having stomach pains, throwing up."

Rachel nodded.

"Did they tell you we got your test results back?"

Rachel took a deep breath. "I know. I'm pregnant."

"Then you know that we have a few concerns?"

Rachel and Roman glanced at each other. "What concerns?" he inquired.

"Are you the father?" Dr. Carter asked him.

Roman squeezed Rachel's hand. "I am."

Dr. Carter nodded. "Ok. Considering the pain happened right after she had her panic attack and it was as intense as it was, we're going to assume that it wasn't just regular stomach pain." She glanced back and forth to Rachel and Roman as she spoke.

Rachel's chest started to get tight. "You think it had something to do with the baby?"

"Well it is too soon to tell, but considering what all you told Dr. Gabaldon last night, how it just happened all of a sudden… like I said, it's too soon to tell, but considering the amount of stress you've been under lately, I have to be honest with you. You are lucky you didn't miscarry last night."

Rachel folded her lips in. Miscarry? Roman had told her that Eleanor had just been afraid. Could it have been possible that he was wrong? Eleanor's face from the Tower flashed through Rachel's mind. _Come home with me,_ she had said.

"But I didn't miscarry, right? The baby's still alright?" Rachel could feel herself starting to panic again.

Roman squeezed her hand tighter and she threw a glance at him. He shook his head. Rachel took a deep breath. Now was definitely not the time to go into panic mode again.

"When can I leave? Is it safe to leave?" she asked Dr. Carter.

"If I were you, I would wait. Give it a couple of days. We can monitor your stress levels. This is the second time you've been here in two days. That's not good, Rachel."

Rachel let out a sigh, suddenly feeling weary. Two days. Two days to sleep and to think. She was sure Pennywise wouldn't be able to visit, but she had him as Roman, if he decided to stay around.

Rachel spent the rest of the morning resting. Roman stayed by her side, for which she was grateful. Every now and then her nightmare from the night before would pop into her mind, but she pushed it away. That was what had gotten her in the hospital to begin with. Soon she drifted to sleep.

A while later, she had another visitor. Her mother. Sarah didn't really say anything when she came in, but the look that she passed between Rachel and Roman said it all. She knew.

"Roman, I would like to speak to my daughter alone please." Sarah's tone was finite.

"Sure," he replied. He gave Rachel's hand a squeeze and left the room.

Sarah put her purse down on the couch. "Susan told me about what happened last night. How Roman called her. She also told me about your…condition."

Rachel started fiddling with the edge of her sheet. "I just found out yesterday. I took a…pregnancy test." That wasn't completely a lie. She had just used Pennywise's magic to do it. "It was positive."

Sarah spread her hands. "Honey, this is the rest of your life. I know you and Roman have feelings for each other, but…" She sat down on the chair that Roman had just vacated. "I just wish you had been more careful."

Rachel couldn't help it. She started crying. "I know. We just…we have so much in common. He really sees me, Mom. In a way that no one else ever has."

Sarah sighed. "I know I haven't been there for you. That was my fault. You know I will support you no matter what. But a baby? Honey…"

"I'm not aborting it, Mom," Rachel shot at her. "I know me and Roman haven't been together long, but this baby didn't do anything wrong. And we didn't either."

"Rachel, I would never, _never_ expect you to kill this baby. But at least please think about for after it's born. This is a lot of responsibility. You have to work. And what about the theatre?"

"Mom, please. I know this is a shock. I'm still not completely sold on the idea yet myself. But please, let me handle it."

Sarah smiled, a weary smile. "I guess my baby girl's all grown up."

"I guess so."

"Well then, congratulations. You know I'm here for you." Her mom hugged her. It was exactly what Rachel needed.

* * *

Rachel and Pennywise sat by the creek. It was the afternoon that Rachel had left the hospital. She had been there for almost two whole days. She was between his legs reclined against his chest. He had his long arms around her, his hands entwined over her belly.

"I don't ever want this to end," she said.

"It doesn't have to, my sweet." He leaned forward and nuzzled her hair.

"I can so see me, you, and Eleanor sitting out here. We can hold her standing up. Put her little feet in the water.

"We can do whatever you want, dearest."

Rachel smiled. She loved his little lisp. An idea struck her and a mischievous grin played across her face. She turned to face him.

"Anything?" She cocked an eyebrow at her clown husband and brought a hand up to rub his chest.

Pennywise grinned and enveloped her hand in his own large one. "My kitten is always so eager. Maybe you should keep resting."

"Oh I can think of something that I would love to _rest_ on," Rachel said in a sultry voice as she climbed up into his lap.

Pennywise's face grew serious. "You want to ride me, kitten?"

She nodded. "I do."

"Right here? Right now?" He brought his hands up to cup her ass.

"I can think of no better place."

She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. She backed away. His crystal blue eyes stared into hers.

"We can take it slow, you know," she said quietly as she ran her hands up his chest. "I think I can handle that."

He brought his hands up to the hem of her shirt. "Are you sure, Rachel?"

"I'm sure."

She reached down and pulled her shirt up over her head. Her bra came next. Pennywise's eyes took in her every movement. She threw her bra down next to her shirt. She started to stand up to remove her shorts, but Pennywise grabbed her hands.

"Wait."

She gave him a questioning look.

"I do not do this enough."

The clown leaned forward and tenderly put his lips to her breast. He started rolling his tongue around her nipple. His hair was right in her face. She ran her fingers through it. Something she didn't do nearly enough. Pennywise started purring as his tongue laved her tender flesh. He put his hands on her ass again and squeezed gently. Rachel brought her hands down and started unfastening her shorts.

Pennywise pulled away and glanced up at her. Drool dripped from his mouth. Rachel bent down and kissed him firmly on the lips, then backed off of him. She stripped down and stood before him, completely naked. The sound of the rushing creek filled her ears. She wiggled her toes, feeling the grass between them and grounding herself to the earth. Pennywise's eager eyes traveled up and down her body. He reached down and freed his tentacles from his pantaloons, his eyes still glued on her.

"This cock is for you, my queen. Now come and let it fill you. Fill yourself up with me."

Rachel slowly climbed over Pennywise's legs, her alien amber eyes locked on his blue ones. She straddled his hips, now standing over him. His cock writhed as if eagerly waiting to be sheathed inside her.

"I am yours, Pennywise. My heart, my body, and my soul. Yours. Forever. Nothing is ever going to change that."

She lowered herself onto him. There was a squelching sound as the tentacle slid its way up inside her, deeper and deeper.

Pennywise's eyes transformed right before her, their crystal blue depths turning into solid gold. Rachel gave him one gentle thrust. Pennywise shivered beneath her. She thrusted again. And again. A sigh escaped her lips. The feeling of that slick and firm, yet soft tentacle sliding back and forth against her vaginal walls was the sweetest sin she could imagine. She rode him slowly, running her hands up and down his firm chest. There was no hurry.

She rolled her hips in a circular motion. Her mouth fell open and her fingers tightened on his costume. His tentacle turned as she turned, rubbing and massaging every single inch of her core. She started shaking. Pennywise growled and his eyes rolled back.

"Ohhh, Rachel. My queen. I could fuck you for eternity."

Pennywise fell backwards, bringing her with him. His back hit the ground. His cock hit her g-spot. She came. She started rolling her hips again. Pennywise reached up and roughly squeezed her breasts. She grabbed the front of his costume and pulled it so hard, the fabric ripped. She threw her head back and screamed at the sky. Her orgasm was like a tidal wave, drowning her. And she had no desire to come up for air.

Before she could finish coming back down, she thrusted hard into Pennywise. She wasn't done yet. She made his cock slam into her g-spot. She glanced down at Pennywise. His eyes were completely white and his mouth was open in an 'o' shape. Rachel felt another orgasm building up again, but Pennywise beat her to it. He exploded inside her. Her body bent over as her second orgasm hit. She rode it out quietly. When she was done, she braced her hands against Pennywise's chest to hold herself up.

She was a sweating, quivering mess. Her hands went to the rips in Pennywise's costume. She studied them. She had ripped. The cloth. Of Pennywise's costume.

He grabbed her wrists. "What is wrong, dearest?"

"Look," Rachel breathed.

Pennywise glanced at his chest. A diabolical grin lit up his face as he glanced back up at her.

"My queen grows stronger."

Rachel's mouth fell open. His strength. She had acquired some of Pennywise's physical strength. She started to wonder what other kinds of tricks she would pick up from her inter dimensional husband.

She washed her nether regions off in the creek. Pennywise reclined against a rock, watching her. Rachel climbed out.

"Hey, baby, is it okay if I have the rest of the day to myself?"

"Aww, tired of your mate already?"

Rachel smiled. Although his voice sounded serious, she knew otherwise.

"Never ever. I just wanted to relax. Have some time to myself for a while. Maybe go to bed early."

Pennywise stood and walked over to her. "If that is what my queen wants, then Pennywise shall give it to you." He bent down and kissed her forehead. "And I shall feed while you are doing that."

Rachel gave him another smile, although she didn't quite feel this one. She really didn't want to be away from him, but she had a lot to think about and to prepare for. Pennywise left and she sat on the ground. It felt weird feeling grass beneath her bare backside. She had only felt it once before. She smiled at the memory of the first time she and Roman had made love. That was the night she had realized she loved him. And Pennywise. One in the same, yet they were so different. Like being in human form made Pennywise feel a little more human. It made sense.

Rachel sat out in the sun for a while and finished drying off, then got dressed. She took her time going back to her car. There was really no reason to rush home.

When she got to her car, she stopped. There was a dark gray car pulled up alongside hers. Both the driver and left rear passenger doors were open. She scanned the area nervously. Someone was there.

A pair of arms grabbed her from behind. A gloved hand went over her mouth. She tried to scream, but couldn't. Whoever it was was taller than her and bigger. He started dragging her towards the other car. She tried to fight him, but his grip was just too tight. She even tried to dig her tennis shoes into the ground to create friction, but nothing could slow him down. He drug her to the open back door. A large metal circular object lay on the back seat. It was about the size of a frizbee. Rachel's eyes grew wide. He got her in the crook of the door and removed his hand from her mouth.

"Help!" she screamed.

The man reached out and grabbed the circular thing while still holding her in place with his other arm. She elbowed him in the stomach. The man grunted but still didn't lose his hold on her. He grabbed the metal circle and put it around her neck.

"No. Pennywise!"

The circle clamped shut. Then the man shoved her in the car and slammed the door shut. She was too stunned to react. The man got in the driver's seat and slammed his door shut and hit the gas. He had left the car running. The car took off. Rachel heard the doors lock. There was no way she could escape. She could have unlocked the door, but then she would have to jump. She would have to wait.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The man was wearing a ski mask. Green eyes poked out through the holes. He didn't answer her. Rachel tugged at the iron collar. It was stuck fast. She tried to calm her breathing and closed her eyes. She tried to reach out to Pennywise with her mind.

"Ahh!" She put a hand to her head as she felt a sharp pain, followed by a wave of dizziness. She started to panic.

There were four things Rachel was aware of: 1) She had been kidnapped. 2) She had some kind of strange collar around her neck. 3) She now had a headache the size of Derry.

And 4) She couldn't contact the one person who could help her.


	22. Chapter 22

_*****Rated for language*****_

Rachel sat with her head in her hands with her eyes closed. She didn't know where the guy was taking her, but the road was very winding and she was nauseated. Again.

"Um, I have a problem, sir."

"What is it?" the man said.

"I need to throw up. Like, bad."

"Can you hold it? It shouldn't be much longer."

That voice. She knew that voice. Her eyes popped open. The man kept glancing back and forth at her in the rearview mirror. Rachel scowled at him.

"You know this isn't going to help, right?"

He didn't say anything at first. "I'll take that chance," he muttered.

"Chris, just pull the damn car over. I'm not gonna go anywhere."

Chris pulled over on the side of the road. Rachel barely made it in time. After she finished throwing up, she took note of her surroundings. They were on a back road in the middle of the woods. A car passed by, but besides that there was nothing. A gnat tried to land on Rachel's face. She blew on it.

"Maybe you should go back to the hospital for the third time."

She turned around. Chris was leaning against the car. He had taken off his ski mask.

"How do you know about that?"

"Your boss. I went to the library yesterday. She said you were having...stomach problems."

"I've been making a lot of adjustments lately. Not that it's any of your goddamn business." Rachel stood up. She was trying very hard not to care that Chris had just seen her throw up.

"You keep saying that. But someone's got to stop you from completely destroying yourself. I was hoping your cousin would have helped you out with that."

"You son of a bitch. You sent them to my HOUSE!"

Despite her headache and weak stomach, somehow Rachel found the strength to launch herself at Chris. He had to put his arms up to block her blows as she repeatedly hit him.

"You knew they would see us! You KNEW!"

He grabbed her arms. "I knew it was the only thing that was going to wake you up! I didn't even know if he was going to be there or not."

She tried to break free from him. "It wasn't your fucking right! They fucking saw us fucking!"

Chris's mouth fell open, a mixed look of horror and confusion on his face. "What? Say that again. In English."

Rachel stopped fighting. "They saw us having sex. Me and Pennywise. Not Roman. Pennywise."

Chris released her. "Jesus. I didn't know. Just what the hell were you doing doing that kind of stuff where people could see you?"

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. "It is my _house_ , you dumb, jealous asshole!" She held up a finger. "And don't you even, EVEN blame me and Pennywise. We can't freaking help it if you've become obsessed with breaking us the hell up."

Chris just stood there, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Rachel pulled at the metal collar around her neck. "And this shit? Just what the hell is this? Why am I wearing it?" She had calmed down somewhat, but was still furious.

"It's just a collar. An iron one. Used for livestock."

Rachel cocked an eyebrow at him. "And why am I _wearing it?_ " she repeated.

Chris put his hands on his hips. "Iron repels some magic. I'm surprised you didn't know that."

Rachel had to wrack her brain. "It's supposed to work against fairies. I'm not…" She didn't know what she was anymore. She just knew that something was blocking her from reaching Pennywise with her mind and that it was hurting her when she tried. And there was something else that was bothering her too.

"Who gave this to you?"

"Mike Hanlon. He's a friend of Bill's."

Rachel remembered Mike. "And why would he be helping you?"

"They're all helping me."

She swallowed. "Who's 'they'?"

"The Losers' Club. That's what they call themselves." Chris shook his head. "You don't even know your own cousin do you? I thought the two of you were close."

"I don't know who I'm close to anymore," Rachel said quietly. And the sad truth was, she really didn't know, besides Pennywise. "And what are they helping you to do?"

Chris didn't answer for a second. A look came over him, one that could almost be mistaken for sadness, but somehow that didn't fit quite right.

"To stop him. Bill and his friends are going to kill Pennywise."

Time stopped. It must have. There was no sound. There was nothing. It was like when Rachel was floating, only worse. At least Pennywise had been there with her.

They were going to kill him. Was that even possible? She started to become lightheaded. She stumbled. Chris came towards her. She held up her hands. He stopped.

They were going to kill him. Rachel's heart started pounding in her ears. At that moment, she hated everyone. The world. Humans. She had done nothing wrong except love someone that went above and beyond any taboo that she had ever known.

"Why are you doing this?" she said in a weak voice to no one in particular.

"Because he's a monster, Rachel."

Rachel glared at Chris, anger and hatred burning a path through her soul.

"Then you should be damn glad you put this collar on me," she snarled. And then she remembered something that she had told Pennywise just a few days earlier, after Bill and Richie had walked in on them. _This time you won't be going alone,_ she had told him.

Rachel almost started laughing. Of course. Pennywise had found Chris. Not once, but twice. And as far as the Losers, it would probably take all of them to kill her mate, if he didn't destroy them first. Pennywise would be fine. And he would find her. He always had. Even Maturin himself had said that the two of them were destined to be together. Rachel decided to bide her time and play along. After all, she was pretty much immortal now. She had all the time in the world.

"You're right, Chris. He is a monster. But he's my monster. Do you know that we have imprinted on each other?"

Chris furrowed his brow. "Imprinted?"

"We can hear each other's thoughts. But there's more to it than that. We can feel what each other is feeling. Pain, desire, whatever."

Chris stumbled as if he was in pain. He pointed at Rachel. "You can feel… what he is feeling?"

She stared at him. "Yes. To some extent."

Chris's gaze went off to the side. "So if they kill him?" His eyes went back to her, a look of pure horror now on his face. Chris turned and ran back to his car. He opened the door and pulled something out. It was a walkie-talkie. Rachel watched him in rapt confusion.

"Bill? Bill, do you come in? It's Chris. Over." _Static._ "Richie? Anybody?" _Static._ "Guys, listen. Do not hurt Pennywise. I repeat, do not hurt Pennywise."

Nothing. No answer. Rachel found herself approaching the car as though in a trance as apprehension dawned on her. Chris had sent the Losers to kill Pennywise.

Which meant she would die as well.

* * *

Bill watched the clown approach. Pennywise's claws had now extended through his gloves. Next to Bill, poor Eddie sat clutching his broken arm.

 _Static._ "Bill? Bill, do you come in? It's Chris. Over."

Bill glanced down at his pocket. It was his long distance walkie-talkie. Chris Sheffield had the other one. He was supposed to be taking Rachel somewhere to talk to her. Get her away from Pennywise for a while and tell her the truth about him.

 _Static._ "Richie? Anybody?"

Pennywise was now staring at Bill's pocket. The demon clown had his head cocked to the side.

 _Static._ "Guys, listen. Do not hurt Pennywise. I repeat, do not hurt Pennywise."

Bill's stomach fell. That was exactly what they had come to the Neibolt house to do. Of course right now, the odds were definitely pointing to Pennywise.

 _Static._ "Listen to me! Do not kill that clown! Rachel will die! Do you hear me? Rachel will die! They are bound to each other!" Chris yelled.

Bill's stomach dropped like a stone. He swallowed. Pennywise gave him an evil grin.

It looked like their time was up.

* * *

Rachel sank to the ground. She felt numb. All she could do now was wait. Unless the Losers got Chris's message, she was now a ticking time bomb. She couldn't completely blame Chris though. The Losers had been having Pennywise on their shit list for the last couple of months as well. And the fact that they now knew the extent of Rachel's relationship with him probably didn't help. And the baby? Did Bill know about that too? Probably so.

Chris came around to the car and knelt next to her. "I am so sorry. But I tried to warn you, Rachel."

"It would have been too late," she muttered.

"You don't know that."

"Yes. You were already down there when we imprinted. You were so eager to kill him today. And you would have killed me."

Chris put his hand on her arm. "Look, we're going to free you from this. I promise. But right now I need you to come with me."

"What do you think's going to happen when he finds you?" Rachel glanced up at him. "Do you really think he's not going to kill you?"

"I know I'm taking a risk. You are too important to him. I don't know why, but you are. But there is something that you need to know. And we are running out of time."

Rachel sighed. Someone was going to get hurt today, that much she was certain of. She just as soon let Chris get what he had to say off his chest. She stood up and he stood with her.

"Fine. I'll go with you. I really think it's for the best if you just bring me home, but I have a feeling it's just pointless the even convince you to. But…if he comes after you, don't expect me to try to stop him. You might be kidnapping me for what you think is my own good, but there's no way he will see it that way."

Chris huffed. "You think I was expecting otherwise? Get in."

He stalked past her and got in the car. Rachel climbed in on the front passenger side. Chris sped off, leaving flying dirt and tire tracks in his wake.

"So where are you taking me?" Rachel asked.

"My parents have a cabin. I figured it would be a good place for us to talk. Let you get your head straight."

"The only thing that needs to get straight around here is what I've told you a hundred times. I am with Pennywise. We are in love. And I am not just going to just let you tear our family apart."

"Family?" Chris said in a hollow voice.

"That's right. Me and Pennywise. We belong together. It's not your place to-"

Chris held out his hand. "Wait. You said family. Not relationship. Family."

Rachel felt a knot form in her throat. Chris hadn't known about the baby. So if Bill knew, apparently he hadn't told him.

"Chris…"

Chris shot her a glance. Apparently the look on her face was all he needed.

"Shit," he spat. He slammed on his brakes, stopping in the middle of the road. Rachel shot forward in her seat. Good thing she had put her seatbelt on.

"Chris! Why did you stop? We're in the middle of the road."

Chris swiped a hand over his face. "Christ! Oh Jesus Christ, say it isn't so, Rachel."

"Chris, you're starting to scare me."

Chris let out a harsh laugh. "I'm starting to scare you? You just told me… Are you pregnant for him?"

Chris was now sitting sideways facing her. She opened and closed her mouth, but didn't say anything. What could she say? She turned away from him.

"Look at me, Rachel!"

Her gaze met his. He pointed a finger at her. "I want you to tell me. I want you to tell me right now that you're not pregnant for him."

Rachel frowned at him, still staying silent.

"You're pregnant," Chris said in a hoarse voice. "You are carrying that demon's offspring inside you."

Rachel's entire body froze. Her mouth fell open. "What did you say?"

 _Static._ "Sheffield? Come in Sheffield. This is Tozier. Whatever you're going with Rachel, you might want to do it fast. We have a _severely_ pissed off clown that is now missing in action. Repeat, he is angry, he is gone, and he is looking for his girlfriend."

Rachel and Chris shared a glance. She had no idea what he was thinking, but she felt mega relieved. Her mate had lived to fight another day. Chris put the car in drive and took off again. Pennywise was fine. Rachel was fine. Chris wasn't going to be fine anymore, but that was his problem. The only thing Rachel was concerned with now was being reunited with Pennywise and the two of them finally being able to be left in peace.

Although there was something Chris had said that was not quite sitting well with her. And with all the things he had told her about Pennywise, somehow, it was the most disturbing thing yet.

One word.

Demon.


	23. Chapter 23

Rachel stood in front of the large window overlooking the lake. Pennywise still hadn't come for her yet. She wasn't worried though. Either it was taking him longer to find her for some reason or he had let Chris get her to the cabin on purpose. She pulled again at the collar around her neck. It was starting to feel weighted.

"So are you going to take this darn thing off?" she asked Chris.

"Not yet. Pennywise isn't here yet. That's a good sign."

She whirled around. "Or he's just biding his time."

Chris was at the living room table, spreading out some papers. "I don't need much of it."

Rachel shook her head and tried to refrain from rolling her eyes. As much as she feared how this would all end for Chris, she couldn't wait to get this all over it.

"I really wish you would tell me what was so important that you had to drag me way the hell out here." She plopped herself into a recliner across from Chris. "Couldn't you have just told me by the creek?"

"I told you, I needed to get you away. To some place where you could clear your head."

"And I told you, you're wasting your damn time," she retorted. "You heard Richie. Pennywise is looking for me. What do you think that means for you?"

Chris pushed the pile of papers towards her. They looked like copies of something from a book.

"What is this?"

He gestured towards them. "Look."

Rachel shot Chris a pair of eyes, but decided to humor him. Sure enough, it was copies from old books. She skimmed each page. They were all about the same thing: massive events of deaths and disappearances that had happened in Derry throughout the decades. She frowned at the pages. While they were all disturbing, some even including pictures, Rachel was having trouble connecting them.

"What am I supposed to be looking for?" she asked Chris. She glanced up at him.

"Well…we think they're all connected somehow."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "We?"

"Ben Hanscom. He's the one who pointed these out to me. He's been really interested in the history of Derry. He thinks there's some kind of connection between all of these. And that they're not just accidents."

Rachel scowled at him. "And you think my husband had something to do with this?"

Chris's mouth dropped open. His green eyes widened. "Husband?"

The lights went off. It was late in the afternoon, so even the light coming in from the window wasn't much. But Rachel could still make out her surroundings enough. If she had been anyone else, she would have been worried, but a small smile played at her lips. Apparently Chris had caught on as well to what had caused the power outage.

"You got here just in time," he said in a loud voice. "I was just giving your…wife…a little history lesson."

Rachel saw Chris's hand reach down in between the pillow cushions and pull something out. It glinted in the dull light.

Chris had a revolver. Rachel's mouth fell open. She started to stand, but he put his hand out to stop her.

She shot him an angry glare. "Fuck you," she muttered as she stood.

Rachel was about to go find her clown husband when a large, dark shape slowly came into the room. She stopped. He had his head down, so she couldn't really make out his face, but Rachel still knew that silhouette anywhere.

"Pretty little princess, don't be afraid."

He picked his head up. Rachel felt her heart swell. He had come for her.

"Pennywise has come to make your day."

Chris stood, revolver in hand. "So the clown has come. I figured you would eventually."

Pennywise smirked. "She is my mate. Why would I not?"

Rachel spread her hands. "Now can someone please get me out of this goddamn collar?"

Chris placed the gun on the couch. The anger in his eyes was evident as he came around the table to her. He fiddled with a mechanism on the collar. He had to work at it. Rachel made her hand into a fist. It took all she had not to just slam him in the gut. But she kept her cool.

Pennywise was here now. Rachel would let her husband handle Chris. Chris took the collar off and threw it on the table with a clang.

"Thank you," she told him, though her voice was like ice. "So you were saying?"

Chris narrowed his eyes and cocked his head sideways at her. "What?"

"You were saying. Before Pennywise got here you were telling me about the incidences. The disturbing deaths of all those people?"

Rachel held her chin out defiantly. Would Chris dare to tell her what he had brought her there to tell her now that Pennywise was here? Chris threw a sideways glance at Pennywise.

"I figured as much," Rachel said. "It was all well and good with just me and you here, but now…"

Chris still didn't say anything. Rachel just knew there was a war going on within him.

"All of those deaths were freak accidents. Nothing more."

Rachel scrunched her mouth sideways. "Hmm." She idly strode to stand between Chris and Pennywise. "That doesn't sound like what you were about to tell me. And if it was, you sure went through an awful lot of trouble. Kidnapping me. Forcing that collar on me."

Pennywise made a sound that sounded like a mix between a growl and a hiss. "My queen has been mistreated," he said. He stood next to Rachel. "That will not do at all."

Chris swallowed. The poor son of a bitch was getting more and more nervous by the minute.

"I'm sorry for that."

Pennywise let out a soft chuckle. "You will be." He stepped forward, but Rachel put out her hand to stop him.

"I told you to leave us alone, Chris," she said. "We weren't hurting anyone. Especially you."

Chris let out a strained laugh. "Not hurting anyone? He really has kept you in the dark. Who do you think's been causing all these disappearances, Rachel?"

Pennywise gave a sharp intake of breath. He advanced on Chris again. Chris quickly grabbed the gun off the couch and pointed it at Pennywise.

"No!" Rachel hollered.

"I will do it. I swear to God, I will." Chris's arms were shaking. "You say you've imprinted on him. But don't think I won't do it. He's killed too many people."

"Goddamn it, Chris. No he hasn't."

"Innocent children! He has killed innocent fucking children!" Chris screeched.

Rachel slowly shook her head. "No," she whispered.

Chris wasn't finished yet. "And that's not all he's done to them." He cocked his gun. "Have you, you fucking child eating goddamn monster?"

Rachel inhaled a shaky breath. It was all coming back to her. The arm mixed in with the floating kids. And at the diner. Roman had laughed at her when she had suggested that he ate animals. Now she knew why. She saw in her head the nightmare she had had about Pennywise. She swallowed the bile that had now risen up in her throat.

Pennywise ate children.

Chris told Pennywise something that Rachel didn't quite catch.

Pennywise let out a maniacal chuckle. "Puny human. Do you think she will care? She is my queen. My mate."

Rachel stared at Pennywise as though seeing him for the first time.

"According to the way she's looking at you, I think she does," Chris said snidely, his gun still aimed at Pennywise.

The clown turned his gaze towards Rachel. "How do you think I have survived all these years? All these millennia?"

Spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke. For the first time since Rachel met him, she hated his animalistic, alien ways.

"You were going to kill Georgie, weren't you?"

Pennywise's face turned into a scowl, but he didn't say anything, so she continued.

"That day that I showed up in the rain. That was you in the drain that he was talking to. You were going to lure him down there…and eat him." The last part came out in a whisper. "You were going to _eat_ my COUSIN!"

"A feast is a feast, my dear. Until you came along, I did not have reason to care."

Rachel backed away from Pennywise, her gaze darting back and forth between him and Chris, trying to decide who she hated more at the moment. One of them had given her joy, but they both had taken it away. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. And for the first time in her life—she wanted to die. But she couldn't. Eleanor didn't deserve that. And neither did Rachel's family. They were all she had now. They were all she had had all along.

"You know what I think?" She said as hot tears ran down her cheeks. "I think you should both kill each other. And then maybe you will both have just a taste of what I am feeling right now."

Rachel felt like a robot as she grabbed Chris's keys, totally unaware that Chris was staring after her. And Pennywise…there was only one thing he had his eye on. Rachel opened the front door and let it slam behind her.

She was halfway down the stairs when she heard the gunshots, followed by an unearthly roar and human screams.

Then there was silence.

She didn't even bother to look back.


	24. Chapter 24

The shower water cascaded down Rachel's back as if it could wash away more than just the dirt and grime of that day.

As if she could be so lucky.

Her headache had finally subsided, but now she had a different one to deal with.

The one in her heart.

Pennywise was a child eating demon.

Just thinking about it caused an actual pain in Rachel's chest. She turned off the shower and dried herself off. Her whole relationship with Pennywise had been a lie. Or had it been? Did he really love her? Or had he just been using her all this time?

And what if her unborn child? Was she safe?

Rachel dressed herself in her night clothes. She was coming out the bathroom when she heard her phone ring. She made no hurry to answer it. She numbly made her way to the kitchen. Herstomach was growling even though she had no real appetite. But she still needed to eat. It looked like a cereal and milk night. Rachel grabbed a box of cereal and turned around. She gasped loudly and dropped it.

Pennywise was standing in her kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel demanded, her voice coming out more harshly than she'd intended it to.

A look of shock and sadness came over his face. Rachel almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"What is wrong, my kitten?" He spread out his hands and stepped towards her.

She took a step backwards. "Don't come any closer," she said sharply.

Pennywise stopped. He slowly lowered his arms. "Why are you afraid of me? I was worried about you."

"I'm not afraid. I'm pissed off. And disgusted."

Rachel bent down and picked up her cereal box. She slammed it on the table and then got the milk out of the fridge.

"Have I done something to upset you?"

"You mean besides eating my own kind? Eating innocent fucking kids?" Rachel slammed the milk jug on the table next to the cereal. "Just what the hell am I supposed to do with that?"

Pennywise lowered his gaze at her. When he spoke, his voice was laced with anger. "And you would want me to be normal? You would want me to be human?"

Rachel gawked at him. "I don't want you to _eat_ humans! Oh my God." She ran her hands through her hair. Pennywise seriously did not realize the wrong that he was doing. This is what Rachel had brought into her life. This is what she had brought into her family's life.

"I can't believe this." She cupped her hands over her mouth and tried to control her breathing. She shook her head. "I seriously cannot believe you right now."

How would she ever be able to leave her daughter alone with him? How would she ever be able to trust him with anyone? She didn't even know what happened to Chris. Rachel froze. Chris. She had heard him scream after he had fired his gun at Pennywise.

Rachel took her hands away from her face. "Penny, what did you do to Chris?"

Pennywise giggled. "Is that what you're worried about? What I did to Chris? The human who tried to destroy everything I have built? Everything that matters?"

"I don't know Penny. You tell me. Did he destroy us?" Rachel opened her box of cereal, but her appetite was completely gone now.

Pennywise came right up to her. She didn't look at him.

"I destroyed him just as I would do to anyone who tries to take what is mine. There is not a breath left in his body." He put his face right next to her head. "There is not a body left to breathe. Or at least not all of it."

Rachel pushed her cereal and milk away from her. There was no way she was eating now.

"Was he as good as all the others?" she asked Pennywise, her voice deadpan.

Pennywise swept his arm out violently, sending Rachel's half gallon of milk and box of cereal flying across the table. Pieces of cereal sailed through the air. Rachel stood frozen in horror.

"You wanted him to kill me! Why did you want him to kill me?"

Pennywise was back in her face. Spittle flew as he shrieked at her. She shrank away from him.

"You were going to kill my cousin," she managed to get out in a squeak. "You might have tried to kill Bill too for all I know."

Pennywise turned away from her and hunched over the table. "He and his little friends were going to kill me. Should have I have let them? Would that have made you happy?"

"No!" Rachel hollered. "No! I don't want you do die! I love you so much, but you have to understand that there are some things that you just don't do."

Pennywise rounded back on her. His eyes were so yellow, they were almost glowing. " _Humans_. Humans do not do," he said in a growling voice. "I am eternal, my dear. I am the eater of worlds and children. You have paid the price. You have chosen me. Mated with me. Begot a child with me."

As he spoke, he advanced on her. Rachel kept backing up until her back hit the counter.

"In several months, I will hibernate. I will sleep for 27 years. And you…" He reached out and grabbed her around the throat.

Rachel let out a squeal. Pennywise put his face right up to hers. "You will join me."

"What? Sssleep? I can't sleep. What do you mean? What about Eleanor? What about my family, my life?"

Pennywise leered at her as his large hand massaged her throat. "I am your life, my queen. I am everything. And soon…" He leaned down and put his face next to her ear. His sweet cotton candy breath tickled your hair. "I will be your only."

Pennywise released her. A whimper escaped Rachel's throat. She had made a deal with the devil. That was all that it boiled down to. She had fallen in love with him. Given her heart and body to him. And now her soul was his as well.

Rachel was stuck with Pennywise forever. A thought that had once given her joy, now filled her heart with dread. And there was only one way out of it. She may have to sacrifice herself as well, but so be it. There was only one option left.

Pennywise had to die.

* * *

Rachel knocked on the Denbrough's door. She hated showing up at night, but it was still early enough and she desperately needed to talk to Bill. Aunt Susan showed up at the door.

"Rachel? Hey, honey."

Rachel gave her a small smile. "Hey, Aunt Susan."

"Is anything wrong? Do you want to come in?"

"I'm fine. Uh… is Bill around?"

"Sure. I'll go get him. Bill?"

Aunt Susan went back inside and Rachel waited on the porch. A couple of minutes passed, then Bill showed up. He opened the door and came met her. As soon as he walked out, Rachel felt her face turn red. She hadn't seen him since that evening when he and Richie had walked in on her and Pennywise.

"Hey, Rachel."

"Hey." Rachel shoved her hands in her shorts pockets.

"Do you w-want to come inside?"

"That's ok. I won't be long. I just wanted to talk for a minute." She stared at the porch and rocked back on her heels.

Bill joined her and the two of them sat on the steps.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. For everything."

Bill scratched his head. "It's okay."

"No. No it's not." Rachel laced her arms behind her knees. "I was mean to you and Richie. More than once. I just got so overprotective. Now I see I was protective of the wrong thing."

"What do you mean?"

"My family. My baby. I'm pregnant, by the way," Rachel said quickly.

Bill frowned. "I know."

"I didn't think I was going to have to protect any of you from Pennywise. I still don't know if I have to. He said he…" Rachel didn't want to continue. It was just going to make it all the more real. Knowing she was going to outlive her family was one thing, but now Pennywise wanted her to go into hibernation with him, something else he had kept hidden from her.

"You knew about all this, didn't you? About Pennywise. The disappearances, the children. Everything."

Bill nodded. "Yes."

"And you tried to tell me, only I didn't want to listen."

"It's not your fault, Rachel. Pennywise b-blinded you."

Rachel turned to face Bill directly. "But that's just it. He didn't. Yes there were some things he kept from me, but everything else…I knew what he was, maybe not exactly, but I knew. And I let myself fall for him anyway."

"Do you love him?"

"I do. I honestly do."

Bill nodded slowly, his face solemn.

"I'm sorry. I know he's done some horrible, monstrous things, but I… I knew him. I knew him before I knew the truth. The whole truth. I just…something needs to happen. I don't know what, but something. I just wish I knew what the answer was."

Rachel's voice broke. Tears cascaded down her face. She really didn't want Pennywise to die, but if he didn't he would just keep doing what he had done all these centuries. If only there was some way she could get him to leave. But then where would he go? To another realm? Would that be possible? To get him away from people? But then he would be alone. He couldn't help the way he was. And she couldn't help the fact that she still loved him either. But something needed to change. Before he ended up killing someone she loved.

Because if he did that, then he just as soon be dead.

* * *

Rachel sat on her bed that night, feeling like the most wretched creature on the planet. Well, not the most wretched, she reminded herself. She closed her eyes and slowly rocked herself back and forth. After a few minutes, she felt a weight on the edge of her bed. She opened her eyes.

Roman sat there looking at her. "Hey, princess," he said softly.

"Go away, Pennywise. I'm not in the mood." Rachel started to sink under the covers, but Roman grabbed her wrist.

"Why this sudden hatred towards me?"

"I don't hate you. I'm pissed. Royally." She pulled her wrist out of his grip and laid down, turning to face the wall.

"You know you're the only thing I care about, right?"

Rachel sighed. "You know I have other things to worry about, Roman. My daughter. My family."

"And you know I would never hurt them. You know that," Roman said hotly.

"I want to believe that, Roman. Really I do."

Roman grabbed her arm and bent down towards her. "Then look at me and tell me you do, Rachel."

She sat up to face him. She didn't quite look him in the eye, afraid he would see the despair and frustration on her face.

"Look at me," he commanded. So she did.

"You know I would never hurt any part of you. You, your family...and not our daughter. Especially not Eleanor."

"Really? You wouldn't hurt her?" A tear fell down Rachel's cheek. "You would be able to deny your nature? To deny the main thing that has kept you alive all these millennia?"

She saw a muscle tighten in Roman's jaw. He didn't answer her.

"No you wouldn't," Rachel said coldly.

"I would never hurt my own kin, Rachel. You have to believe that."

He brushed his hand against her cheek. She leaned against it. More tears fell.

"I want to believe that, Penny. I really do. But I need to think."

"Think about what? There is nothing else but this, Rachel. Not for me. Not anymore."

His voice was so desperate, so sincere her heart broke.

"I love you, Penny. I love you so desperately, it hurts. But I need some time. I need space. I can't handle this stress anymore. It's not good for me. It's not good for the baby."

Roman stood abruptly. "You want space? Then take it. If it's what you think is best for you, then take it. But if you think it's what's best for us, if you think it's best for _me_...then, kitten... you are dead wrong."

He turned and stalked out of the room. Rachel stared after him with a look of shock on her face. She had never seen him like this before. Not towards her. A sick feeling settled in her stomach. Had she pushed Pennywise away for good? What would become of him if she wasn't around? And more importantly, would anyone suffer because of it?


	25. Chapter 25

It had been a week since Rachel had seen Pennywise. All that time, she had gone about her daily routine, her heart not into anything she did. Two days after her last talk with Roman, a woman had come on the news saying that Chris's body had been found in his parent's cabin. Another family torn apart by Pennywise. _This one by me and Pennywise_ , Rachel reminded herself. Every time she thought of that day, her heart would clench in her chest.

She was sitting at the desk cataloguing some magazines when she got the phone call that

would completely shatter her world.

"Good morning, Derry Public Library, this is Rachel."

"Rachel, this is your mom."

Sarah was crying.

"Mom! What's wrong?"

"It's your brother…he's missing."

Rachel felt like she had been punched in her gut.

"What? What do you mean missing?"

"I left him in his crib for just a few minutes. And when I came back…" She sobbed some more. "Oh Rachel, the window was open. He wasn't anywhere. I looked. Someone stole your brother. They stole Toby!" Sara started wailing.

Rachel banged the phone back down on the hook and grabbed her keys. To hell with her job. She knew exactly who had taken her brother.

And there was no way Pennywise was going to get away with it.

Rachel got to the Denbroughs in record time. She didn't even bother to knock on the door. This was her family. Uncle Zach was on the phone when she came rushing in. Aunt Susan was standing next to him. She was crying.

Rachel froze in her tracks. "Aunt Susan?"

"Rachel?" Susan came to Rachel and put her arms around her. Rachel hugged her back.

"Shh. It's gonna be okay. He's gonna be okay. We'll find him."

"Oh, Rachel. He just vanished. We don't know where he went. One minute he was out playing in the back yard, and the next he was gone."

Rachel narrowed her eyes and slowly pulled away from her aunt. "Wait…Toby was in his crib. That's what mom told me."

"T-Toby? He's missing too?"

Rachel felt like a pick of ice had stabbed her heart. "Too? Who else is missing?"

"It's Georgie."

Rachel whirled around and saw Bill standing there. "Someone t-took Georgie."

Rachel felt lightheaded all of a sudden. Toby and Georgie. Pennywise had taken them both. But why? She could understand him wanting to get back at Bill, but he had sworn to her that he would never hurt anything that was a part of her. So what changed? Unless he didn't want to hurt Toby. So then why take him? Rachel grabbed a chair from the table with shaky hands. She had to sit down. She felt like the room was starting to spin and she couldn't quite catch her breath.

She glanced up at Bill. The look of worry and sadness on his face tore at Rachel's heart. She felt so lost. So helpless. She needed to go outside so she could breathe. She gestured towards the front door and stood. Bill went with her.

"You don't think P-Pennywise would hurt them, do you?" Bill asked once they were on the porch.

"I don't know." Rachel's voice sounded hollow in her ears. "I don't see what that would accomplice. And why Toby? I told him I needed some space and he said he would give it to me. It's only been a week."

She pushed her hair back from her face.

"We need to stop him, Rachel. We need to s-stop Pennywise," Bill said desperately.

"I know, Bill," Rachel said through gritted teeth. She went to stand by the porch railing. "I just don't know what to do. I never thought I would have to deal with something like this."

"W-we should get everyone together. Richie, Eddie, everyone."

Rachel spread her hands out. "And do what?"

"Find a way to stop Pennywise."

Rachel felt like she was standing there watching herself. It was the only way she could cope with this. She had been telling herself for over a week now that something needed to change concerning Pennywise, but the less time she had spent with him, the less conviction she was beginning to feel. If only she could get him alone without the rest of the Losers. Try to talk some sense into him. _And then what?_ she asked yourself. _How many more centuries is he going to do this? How many more families is he going to destroy?_

Rachel took a deep breath. Bill was standing there staring up at her expectantly.

"Fine. Get everyone together. We can meet at the park. And we'll go from there."

Bill ran back into the house. And Rachel went out to her car. She felt like she was Joan of Arc going to face Armageddon.

* * *

A half hour later, Rachel was sitting on a picnic table stuffing her face with french fries. She didn't know what she was about to be getting herself into or how long it would be before she could eat again. She sighed as she thought of poor Toby and Georgie. Pennywise had to be keeping them in his lair. Or at least in the Neibolt house.

Rachel was almost done when Bill and his friends finally showed up. She swallowed the knot that had suddenly formed in her throat. She hadn't really seen them all together since they had come to visit her at the library. Of course Bill and Richie would have told them everything by now. She took a deep breath as the rode their bikes up to her. Time to face the music.

"The cavalry has arrived, my lady," Richie announced as they came up to the bench. They dismounted their bikes.

Rachel smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. _And maybe my husband isn't really a demonic alien clown,_ she thought snidely.

Ben smiled at her shyly. "Hey, Rachel," he said as he took off his backpack and placed it on the table.

"Hey, bud." Ben really was a cutie, she thought. With his sweet eyes and squishy cheeks.

 _This is what you're fighting for,_ Rachel reminded herself as Ben started taking some papers out of his backpack.

"Chris brought us these," he said. "They show different monsters and what they're allergic to."

Rachel's heart started pounding again and she found she was having trouble breathing.

 _Just take it slow. You can do this,_ she told yourself. _Don't wimp out on them now._

Ben held the pages out to her. Rachel took them with a shaky hand.

"We thought you could h-help to better figure out what his w-weaknesses are," said Bill.

 _You mean besides me,_ Rachel wanted to say. But of course she didn't.

"Well we all know that werewolves are allergic to silver and with vampires, it's holy water and garlic. And sunlight. Fairies are allergic to iron as well." Rachel rifled through the copied pages. There weren't many of them. "To me the thing that would make sense the most would be holy water."

Richie threw his hands up in the air. "So we find us some holy water."

"Yeah, but where?" Bev asked. "I'm sure you can't just go buy that at the store."

Everyone glanced at Stan.

"Jews don't do holy water," he said.

"But you're the son of a fucking rabbi. That's got to count for something," Eddie exclaimed.

"What about a church?" Rachel suggested.

"Great. Now we just need to buy guns and rob a church," said Richie.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, Richie. I meant we go in there and take some. We would have to fill something up."

"And do what? Baptize the fucking clown?" Eddie added.

Rachel moaned. "No, Eddie."

"Guys, let's be serious," said Bev.

Rachel could have hugged her.

"What do you suggest, Rachel?" Mike asked.

"We get some squirt guns. We'll have to bring something to the church with us to fill them up. That way we can do it quickly and we can…bring it back to my place…"

She couldn't continue. She was conspiring to kill her husband. Is this what had really become of her and Pennywise? She saw him in her mind's eye, the sweet supportive clown that she had come to know and love. Rachel sat down slowly on the bench as tears swam before her vision. She blinked them away then glanced up at the group of kids standing before her, and what she saw broke her heart even more, if that was even possible. There was no judgement. Just grief and understanding.

"I know what you all must think of me," Rachel said softly. "But you need to understand. The Pennywise that I know…that I loved… that I still love, is so much more different than what you have all experienced." A stray tear fell. She couldn't stop it. "But I want you all to know that I will fight. I will make this right. Even if it kills me."

To her surprise, Bev gave her a hug. Rachel put her arm around her.

"I can't even imagine what you're going through, Rachel," Mike spoke up. "Especially with your baby on the way. But we're here for you. All of us."

Stan and Bill nodded in agreement, and to Rachel's surprise, so did Richie.

"Does anybody have any squirt guns?"

The whole group turned to Ben, staring at him as if he had just grown a second head.

He shrugged. "Just asking."

"No, that's a good question." Rachel stood. "'Cause if no one does, we're gonna have to buy some. And I don't have any money on me."

"We can meet you at the c-church if you wanna buy some," Bill suggested.

"Yeah."

"That'll work."

Rachel glanced around at the group. They all had a plan now. "I'll get some squirt guns. The rest of you get some containers. I don't care if it's a canteen, a pitcher, anything. Meet up at the church, and then we'll go from there."

Everyone hopped on their bikes. Rachel started to take off for her car when she saw it. A single red balloon floating off in the near distance. She watched it for a few seconds and then it popped. Rachel glanced around nervously.

Pennywise knew. And apparently he was not happy about it.

* * *

Rachel stared up at the Neibolt house, her heart feeling like it was literally shaking in her chest. The Losers had showed up at her house with their containers of holy water. Rachel had put the plug in her bathroom sink and filled it up, then loaded up the squirt guns she had just bought. She had felt like she was about to be having a squirt gun fight with Georgie and Bill.

And that was exactly what she was about to do now. Except the fight was real this time. And it was for Georgie and Toby's lives. Mike had brought his bolt gun that he used on sheep. Bill was knelt on the ground rigging up a rusted spike that had broken off of the fence. Rachel glanced around the yard. Yellow sunflowers stood out like miniature suns amongst the tall dead grass. It was like they were the souls of all the dead children saying _do this for us, Rachel._ It lifted her spirits. Just a bit.

The group made their way one by one inside. Rachel was shaking so badly, she wouldn't be surprised if the others could see. And then finally they came upon it.

The well.

Of course Richie had to speak up first.

"So who wants to go say hi to the nice evil clown first?" No one said anything. "Well let's not all volunteer at once."

Rachel started to open her mouth, but Bill stepped in.

"I'll go first."

He and Mike found the rope and rigged it up so that they could climb down. Down they all went, one by one, Mike assisting them. Finally it was just Rachel and Mike. Her gaze met his.

"I guess I'll go next," she said quietly.

Rachel went up to the well and stared down. She froze. Did he know she was there? And that she was about to betray him?

She heard a loud sound right next to her and whirled around. Her mouth fell open in shock. Mike was on the floor. And there was someone standing next to him.

Rachel had only a split second to react before Henry Bowers came at her next. She landed on her back on the hard floor. The wind was knocked out of her. He was on top of her, leering down at her. His face was covered in blood and his eyes were wide and crazed. A wide, maniacal smile was on his face.

"Here we are again, bookworm," he sneered. Rachel tried to fight against him, but he had her pinned down. "I guess you're gonna get it this time, aren't you?"

Bowers reached out and squeezed her breast hard. She cried out. Her head went to the side and she saw something. The bolt gun was lying on the floor. She reached out for it. Luckily Bowers was too busy fondling her to notice.

"Do you have any idea what I'm going to do to you? And how long I've been wanting to do it?"

"Bowers, let her go," Mike said as he tried to sit up.

Rachel got her fingers around the gun and yanked it up. Bower's hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

"Now, now is that anyway to play fair?"

"Get off of me, you mullet wearing freak!"

Bowers laughed and brought his face down to hers. And that was when the smell hit her. she inhaled.

"Ahh," Rachel moaned.

"Now you're starting to get the idea," Bowers said, thinking that it was what he was doing to her that was turning her on.

Rachel felt a surge of adrenaline pump through her. She wanted his blood. Of course she wanted his blood. She was Pennywise's mate. And now it was time she started acting like it.

She tried to bring up the hand that held the gun. She had to strain. Bowers strained against her. Rachel fought to find her inner strength. Bower's eyes grew wide as her arm started coming up. She could tell he was fighting with all his might. But now so was she.

She was Pennywise's mate.

She brought the gun up and got her hand around the trigger. She pointed it towards Henry's other shoulder. And fired.

Bowers screeched and grabbed his shoulder with his other hand. He let his weight come off of Rachel and she pushed him off. Bowers stood up and stumbled back. Rachel stood up also. Bowers was against the well now.

"A girl. You're just a stupid fucking girl," Bowers said through grit teeth.

"No. I'm not…I am the mate of Pennywise."

She cried out and ran at Bowers. She pushed him with all her might and he went over, right down the well. Rachel heard him bounce off the walls on the way down.

She stood there panting and shaking. She was stronger than she realized. She glanced over at Mike, who stood there watching her. After a minute he finally stepped closer to her.

"Your eyes," he said.

She knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You're becoming like him, aren't you?"

Rachel bent down and picked up the bolt gun. She had dropped it when she had run at Bowers.

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

She handed the gun to Mike. The two of them descended. When Rachel got to the bottom she heard screaming. She ran down the tunnel towards the source of the sound. Stan was sitting on the ground. He had what appeared to be bite marks all over his face. The rest of the Losers were crowded around him.

"YOU LEFT ME! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE ME, BUT YOU LEFT ME!"

That was all she needed to see. She ran down the tunnel and didn't stop until she got to the lair. It was exactly as she had remembered it. The trash mountain. The floating bodies. She strained her ears and then she heard something. The sound of crying.

The sound of a toddler crying.

She followed the sound. And then she saw them. Toby was sitting next to the trash mountain crying. Georgie was sitting next to him with his knees pulled up to his chest. Rachel took off for them but a large white shape jumped in front of her.

She stopped in her tracks.

"I knew you would come home eventually, my dear. Do you like your gifts?"

Pennywise's face was lit up in a huge grin. Georgie saw you.

"Rachel!" he cried.

He tried to run to her, but Pennywise grabbed him.

"No!" Rachel yelled. "Pennywise, let him go!"

"I thought nothing could come between us, my dear. Looks like I was wrong."

Rachel heard the others come running in behind her.

"Pennywise! Let my b-brother go!" Bill yelled.

"And you've brought your little friends, I see," said Pennywise.

"Pennywise, it doesn't have to be like this," Rachel said. "You can let them go. You can let them both go. You gave me what I wanted. Space. And it helped. I know what I want now. You. That's all I want is you!"

"And you needed to bring your little friends to help you see that?" Pennywise let out a dark chuckle.

"Billy, please help," Georgie pleaded.

Toby started wailing. Rachel wanted to scream, herself. She tried going with a softer approach.

"You made your point, Penny. You did. You are very capable of handling being with a baby. So we can raise ours. Together. Isn't that what you want?"

"Rachel, please," Georgie pleaded.

The Losers all stood there with their squirt guns raised. Bill held the bolt gun in his hand.

Pennywise laughed. "Look at all your little toys. You think you'll be able to stop me with that?"

"I can stop you. And I will. Right now." Bill raised his gun.

"Shoot him, Bill! Shoot him!" the others yelled.

"It's not loaded," Mike said. "It's not loaded!"

Bill fired. A blast of air shot Pennywise in the forehead. Pennywise started making a garbled noise and shaking. Georgie squirmed out of his grasp and ran to Rachel. Pennywise shook a bit more then stopped and grinned.

"Holy shit," said Stan.

"Now what?" said Richie.

"Fire! Fire now!" Eddie yelled.

Pennywise ran at Bill. Five squirt guns went off. Pennywise stopped in his tracks and started flailing his body as holy water hit him in the face and torso.

Rachel put her own hands up to her face and hollered. Her face was burning. Pennywise went down into a crouch.

The Losers attacked.

Richie jumped on Pennywise's back, but the clown flipped him over. The rest of the Losers started dog piling him and hitting him, but he kept throwing them off. Finally he got a hold of Bill and grabbed him by the throat.

Rachel threw her hand out. "No!"

The entire group stopped. Rachel now realized that they had all made one giant mistake. They might have had enough holy water to finish him off, but there was just one problem— it had mostly hit his costume. But it had affected him somewhat. That much Rachel was certain of. Some of Pennywise's paint had run down his face, reveling the pale, pink, tender flesh beneath.  
Rachel's own face was burning. She could only imagine what Pennywise's felt like.

"I'll take him. I'll take all of you," Pennywise said. He held up a shaky finger. "Or I can just take her. My mate. She will sleep by my side and stay with me for eternity while all the rest of you go on to live happy lives until old age returns you to the weeds."

"Just go. He can have me," Bill called out. "I'm sorry I got you all into this."

"S-sorry," Pennywise said with a mocking laugh.

Rachel stood there. Like the coward she was, she just stood there. All she had to do was say yes. She had gotten Georgie and Toby out of the way, but now another member of her family was in jeopardy.

"You're right, Bill. You're absolutely fucking right," said Richie. "You punched me in the face, you made me walk through shitty water, and brought me into some crackhead house. And now," he grabbed a baseball bat off the mountain of junk, "I'm going to have to kill this fucking clown. WELCOME TO THE LOSER'S CLUB, ASSHOLE!"

Richie swung at Pennywise. The bat connected with his head and the clown fell back, releasing Bill in the process. Rachel felt a jolt of pain in her forehead. Pennywise came back, but Mike came at him this time with a crowbar. A multitude of burnt arms came out of Pennywise's mouth and grabbed the crowbar.

That was Rachel's chance. She ran for Georgie and Toby. At least she could get the little boys out. She was halfway to them when she doubled over with a pain in her abdomen. She couldn't catch her breath. Behind her, her mate was being impaled through the abdomen. Pennywise roared as his blood flew upward into the air. Rachel fell to her knees. Pennywise pulled the spike out of himself, but they hit him over and over. Rachel felt a pain in her back and put a hand to the back of her head as if she had just gotten the blow there herself.

She didn't know what kind of damage they were doing to Pennywise, but they were killing her. That much she was certain of. And she wasn't ready to die. She crawled over to her group. Tears stung her eyes, she was in such pain. She saw another bat. A metal one. She grabbed it. Pennywise was on his knees. His face changed into a man Rachel had never seen before. Now was her chance. The chance to save herself.

She wasn't ready to die.

With one last ounce of strength, Rachel hoisted herself to her feet. Bev raised a metal spike with a yell. Rachel swung the bat.

Metal struck against metal. Bev stared at Rachel in shock. Tears were streaming down Rachel's face.

"I won't let you kill us."

Behind her, Pennywise was crawling backwards. He backed up against a large hole that Rachel hadn't seen before. The Losers all followed him. She lowered her bat.

"We're not afraid of you anymore, and you know that now," Bill told him. "And now you're going to starve."

Pennywise scowled up at Bill.

"You think this is over, puny boy? I will return. And your whole world will quiver beneath me."

"Not today," said Mike.

Pennywise hoisted himself over the edge of the hole, but held on the ledge. Rachel's eyes met his as she wept. He really was leaving. Going into hibernation. She mentally told him goodbye and turned away. She couldn't watch this.

She had taken two steps when she felt something jerk her ankle. She fell flat on her stomach. Once again the air was knocked out of her. Something started dragging her. She tried to grab at something. Anything. She screamed, but it was just not use. She felt herself go airborn.

And then she fell into darkness.

! !

! !

 _ **{**_ _ **Epilogue}**_

Rachel woke up. Her entire body was one giant ache. She was lying on something hard and rough. A cold wind buffeted her body. She saw stars above her. She must have been outside somewhere. Someone leaned over her. She gasped and then tried to speak, but no sound came out.

"Shhh," he said. "You can rest now."

The man passed his hand over Rachel and all her aches slowly left her body. She stared up at him as her mind cleared a bit. In the moonlight, she could see that he had short blond, slicked back hair.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter. You're safe now. Sleep," he said in a silky voice.

Rachel fell asleep.

The man passed his hand over her again.

"Yes, you are a powerful one, aren't you?" he said to her sleeping form. "You'll be fine right here. He'll find you soon enough. You and I will meet again. Not that you'll remember me."

He placed his hand on her forehead.

"Yes. We will meet soon enough."

With that, the Man in Black stood and walked off, disappearing into the desert night.

 _To be continued..._

 **Author's Note: Thank you all so much to everyone who has supported Stroke of Midnight and has chosen to go on this amazing journey with me!**

 **Rachel and Pennywise's tale continues in "Queen of Ash and Dust" which will be found in the Crossover section under Movies/IT/ Dark Tower series. I just posted chapter 1, so go check it out and see where Rachel's journey takes her next!**


End file.
